Popcorn makers say chemical nearly phased out

OMAHA, Neb. – The nation’s four biggest makers of microwave popcorn have removed a flavoring chemical that has been linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers from nearly all their products.

The companies say all their microwave popcorn recipes should be changed by January.

But it might take several months for the reformulated popcorn to replace all the older varieties on store shelves.

In August, Weaver Popcorn Co. of Indianapolis announced it had removed the butter flavor diacetyl from all its microwave popcorn varieties.

ConAgra Foods Inc., of Omaha; General Mills Inc., of Golden Valley, Minn.; and the American Pop Corn Co., of Sioux City, Iowa, all promised in September to change their microwave popcorn recipes. Those three companies sell Orville Redenbacher, Act II, Pop Secret and Jolly Time microwave popcorn.

The chemical diacetyl has been linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare life-threatening disease often called popcorn lung.

Diacetyl occurs naturally in foods such as butter, cheese and fruits, and the FDA has approved its use as a flavor ingredient.

Federal agencies and lawmakers have taken note of the problems with diacetyl.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has stepped-up its inspections of microwave popcorn plants that use the flavoring and a program to minimize or eliminate the workers’ exposure to chemical hazards.

Earlier this fall, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would limit worker exposure to diacetyl in plants that use the chemical. The Senate has not yet considered the bill.

Earlier this year, a pulmonary specialist at Denver’s National Jewish Medical and Research Center wrote to federal agencies to say doctors at the center 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.

But generally, popcorn lung has been associated with people who worked in microwave popcorn plants mixing large vats of flavors. Hundreds of workers have said they have severe lung disease or other respiratory illnesses from inhaling diacetyl vapors. More than 500 lawsuits are pending against the companies that produce or use the butter flavoring.