*Popcorn Lung* is Killing Production Workers

In a new twist on everyone's favourite movie food, the chemical diacetyl, used to make artificial butter flavoring, has been linked to a respiratory disease called "popcorn lung" in hundreds of people that work in factories where butter popcorn in produced:

The disease scars small airways in the lung so victims have to struggle to breathe. It's irreversible. There's no treatment.

When safety and health officials investigated a popcorn plant in Missouri six years ago, they discovered 5-11 times the expected cases of lung disease.

Federal investigators traced the outbreak to a chemical called Diacetyl. Diacetyl is found in many things we eat and drink: beer, wine, vinegar. But industrial flavor manufacturers synthesize the chemical in much greater quantities. And it can become airborne in popcorn factories when it's mixed with hot oil or sprayed on kernels of corn to give them that buttery flavor.

In 2001, after discovering the disease in popcorn workers, federal researchers exposed lab rats to vapors of diacetyl similar to levels found in factories. Half the animals died in just 6 hours. The researcher called it the most dramatic case of cell death she'd ever seen.

The FDA considers Diacetyl safe, but hasn't studied the effect when microwaved. Experiments on the harmful effects of microwaving popcorn at home haven't been released, but the EPA says there is nothing to fear.

Use butter, damn it

Brought to you as a public service by the Wellness Centers of Mitchieville. Two locations to serve you.