Updated: 7:13 p.m. MT Sept 5, 2007
OMAHA, Neb. - Four of the nation’s biggest microwave popcorn makers
are working to remove a flavoring chemical from their products linked to
a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers while reassuring consumers
about the safety of the snack.
Several of the companies discussed their plans Wednesday, a day after a
leading lung research hospital warned that consumers also could be in
danger from the buttery flavoring diacetyl.
The three companies that sell Orville Redenbacher, Act II, Pop Secret and
Jolly Time microwave popcorn said they planned to change the recipes for
their butter-flavored microwave popcorn to remove diacetyl
The chemical diacetyl has been linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans,
a rare life-threatening disease often called popcorn lung.
ConAgra Foods Inc., General Mills Inc. and the American Pop Corn
Company all promised to make the change because of safety concerns.
Together those companies accounted for more than 80 percent of the
market for microwave popcorn over the past 12 months, according to the
research firm Information Resources Inc.
ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said the change will not affect
its popular stovetop popcorn, Jiffy Pop, because it contains natural butter
instead of the threatening chemical.
Last week, another popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn Co. of
Indianapolis, said it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because
of consumer concern.
Significant change
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group,
said the change is significant for workers who handle diacetyl and
welcome for consumers even though the butter flavor may not present a
significant risk for them.
“If the industry can get rid of the diacetyl, great. Why have any risk at all?”
said Michael Jacobson, the nonprofit’s executive director in Washington.
“The real risk, the much bigger risk to consumers is the trans fat in
popcorns.”
The popcorn makers said consumers worried about diacetyl can buy
varieties of microwave popcorn that are not butter flavored because those
products don’t contain diacetyl.
Diacetyl occurs naturally in foods such as butter, cheese and fruits, and
the FDA has approved its use as a flavor ingredient.
A pulmonary specialist at Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research
Center had written to federal agencies to say doctors there believe they
have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the
fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years, according to
reports Tuesday.
Dr. Cecile Rose sent the letter to federal health officials in July.
The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association said that Rose’s finding
does not suggest a risk from eating microwave popcorn. The concern
instead focuses on workers inhaling it in manufacturing settings — either
in making the flavoring or adding it to food products ranging from
popcorn to pound cakes.
Evaluating options
The Washington, D.C.-based association has said several flavor
manufacturers are either researching alternatives to diacetyl or are
already marketing butter flavors free of the chemical.
ConAgra, which makes Orville Redenbacher and Act II popcorn, said it
would make the change over the next year.
General Mills, which sells but doesn’t make Pop Secret popcorn, said it
planned to phase out diacetyl “soon,” but company spokesman Tom
Forsythe said he wasn’t sure how quickly that could be done.
A spokeswoman for American Pop Corn, which makes Jolly Time, said the
Sioux City, Iowa, company has been working on a new recipe without
diacetyl for several months.
“Within the next 90 days, we will have it removed from all of our
microwave popcorn products,” spokeswoman Tracy Boever said.
The first government study to look at what fumes are produced by
microwaving popcorn at home is due to be published as soon as this
month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday.
The two-year study by EPA researchers was completed in late 2005 and
has been under wraps since then, prompting critics to charge that the
agency was protecting industry interests. But an EPA spokeswoman said
the delay was due to a string of requirements including scientific review,
submitting the report to industry and the time it took to get into a
scientific journal.
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EPA spokeswoman Suzanne Ackerman said the paper was recently
accepted for publication as early as this month in a major scientific
journal that she would not name.
The EPA denied a Freedom of Information request last fall from The
Associated Press for the report, arguing it was a draft still under review.
The agency has not yet answered an AP appeal of that rejection.
Ackerman confirmed that the study had been submitted to popcorn
manufacturers ahead of its release. She said that was done to let
companies make sure there were no competitive secrets in the report.
EPA scientists signed nondisclosure agreements with industry in return
for lists of ingredients the makers use in the popcorn and the packaging.
The report, titled “Emissions from Cooking Microwave Popcorn,” is not a
study of the health effects of diacetyl or any other fumes on consumers.
Instead, it looks at exactly what gases including diacetyl are produced in
what amount when consumers make microwave popcorn at home.
Thought this would be of interest to some. I quit buying this product. To
make your own, throw kernals in a brown paper sack and microwave until
it stops. Spray with olive oil and salt. This is way better tasting than
store bought. Try it.Thanks for the heads-up Lori! I live on microwave popcorn, as it's a great night time snack that's low in points. Guess I'll have to look for something else to munch on. Brisen. You don't have to give it up. The home grown version is so good.
Try it. You will love it.I use Paul Newman's microwave popcorn. It has excellent ingredients and it doesn't have that weird smell other microwave popcorn has, probably because it's not made with chemicals. Try it!
I love my popcorn, I'm a popcorn fanatic! But I never eat the microwave kind! It's just nasty and leaves a weird after taste or coating in my mouth.
I use a Stir Crazy and real popcorn. I use Canola Oil and a little salt and it's delicious. I have actually gone through 3 or 4 Stir Crazy poppers in my 25 years of marriage!
So Gale don't give up popcorn - just start eating the good stuff!
OMG, I almost choked on my popcorn!!! I am eating it as I read. I hate micro popcorn because it tastes and smells funny. I use an air popper, but it died yesterday, so today I did it the old fashioned way - on the stove. I used exactly 1tsp of butter in the bottom of the pot and popped it. It is even better than my air popper. I allow myself 1tsp of butter (no margarine, etc. in this house) per day. Very little salt and lots of water to drink. OMG, what next? I have used the paper bag way of cooking for years. Hmmm, I wonder if the paper bag has chemicals in it. Doesn't some paper contain chlorine?I eat a bowl of popcorn every afternoon and found lots of benefits besides tasting yummy. I no longer need a laxative (sorry folks) but thanks to my pain meds...
Because of my popcorn snack I am not as hungry at dinnertime, so I eat less. I cut out after dinner snack/dessert and increased my water intake, all in an attempt to get some of this extra weight off. Oh, and last night's dinner was baked boneless,skinless chicken breast and sugar snap peas sauteed in olive oil and garlic - yummy!
So what do you think?