Home-cooked microwave popcorn may have damaged lungs

[TechBear_Seattle]

Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer

It's only a single case, but a physician specializing in respiratory disease has notified four government agencies that she has diagnosed what may be the first documented case of a person who contracted serious lung damage from cooking microwave popcorn at home.

The rare lung disease -- bronchiolitis obliterans -- can cause death in severe cases. Lung transplants are the only hope that patients have. More than 200 workers at plants making microwave popcorn, flavoring and other products which use the synthetic chemical butter flavoring -- diacetyl -- have been diagnosed with the disease.

Dr. Cecile Rose, chief of occupational medicine at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center, told the federal health agencies that her patient had similar clinical findings to the affected factory workers but his only exposure to diacetyl was as "a heavy, daily consumer of butter-flavored microwave popcorn."

Rose said that her team had measured the diacetyl released in the patient's home when the popcorn was microwaved and found levels equal to what the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found when it began investigating worker exposure in Midwest popcorn plants earlier this decade.



Read more: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/330230_popcorn05.html

[ThomCat]

1. Oh, wonderful.

x(

One more way packaged food will kill us all.

[TechBear_Seattle]

8. It has been known for years that diacetyl was toxic

More than 2 years ago, a worker at a popcorn packaging plant in Missouri was awarded more than $2.5 million in a lawsuit because of his exposure to this stuff; one year ago, several unions petitioned OSHA to have the substance declared a workplace hazard (I believe the matter is still under investigation.)

If this stuff is so toxic, it is no surprise that it is toxic at home. Why the bloody hell diacetyl is still allowed as a food additive is beyond me.

[ThomCat]

10. And why this isn't more commonly know

is beyond me. I'd heard that workers in the food plants were getting ill. I should have realized it was more widespread.

[kimmerspixelated]

14. I use only Newman's micro popcorn

but I will still look at the label to make sure. As it turns out, I have read that margarine itself, is just one molecule away from being considered a plastic.

[kestrel91316]

20. Margarine and shortening are trans fats. Supposedly safe enough to

use in food, but NOT in my opinion. They are NOT nutrition of any sort, but manufactured chemicals which the body does not know what to do with.

Microwave popcorn is no longer allowed in my home because of the diacetyl problem. I'll do the old-fashioned kind - you know, with the skillet and canola oil or lard, popped over a gas flame thank you.

[lynnertic]

33. I use an aluminum stock pot

lighter than my cast-iron skillet and the corn doesn't go everywhere.

On edit: I would like to note that popcorn em, binds you if you know what I mean, so we don't eat it very often in this house.

[kestrel91316]

36. Lol, I'm such a freak, I banned aluminum cookware from my kitchen

20 years ago.........

[lynnertic]

38. really, why?

[kestrel91316]

39. The hypothetical link to Alzheimer's.

http://www.alzheimer.ca/english/disease/causes-alumi.htm

[wicket]

50. Same here

Works like a charm. I have an air popper, but much prefer it to be popped in the stock pot, so much tastier. Mmmmm :popcorn:

[LeftyMom]

45. Both margarine and shortening are available w/o transfats.

Suggesting lard as an alternative is outright irresponsible. Canola is fine provided it's a non-GMO variety and expeller pressed.

[Gormy Cuss]

49. That's old fashioned lard, right?

As long as it's old style rendered fresh lard (not the standard supermarket hydrogenated kind) it's trans fat-free.

I've never like the smell of microwave popcorn nor the dryness of air popped --it's the old oil in the bottom of the pan method for me too.

[baby_bear]

31. You won't find diacetyl on the label

FDA rules allow it to be hidden as a generic "favoring" agent.

b_b

[lynnertic]

34. oh, that's not nice at all.

x(

[spotbird]

25. It smells so foul

that it's easy to believe it's toxic.

[moroni]

51. Stinks!

I hate the smell and never eat buttered popcorn anyway. I won't let the family use the microwave in the house to cook
the popcorn. We had an extra one (microwave) outside but it got borrowed by a newly wed couple. Haven't seen it since.

Nasty smelling stuff. The wife's youngest use to lick the bag after it was nuked. YUCK.

[MilesColtrane]

2. Christ almighty! Redenbacher Lung!

Who would have thought that artificial butter type flavor additive™ isn't chock full of hearth baked goodness?

[Kali]

18. ...

:rofl:

am I so evil to laugh at that? from a popcorn addict. who makes it in a heavy pan on top of the stove with oil. and real butter.

[Uben]

3. Aha!

That's what the Pop Secret is!

[Cobalt Violet]

4. I'm glad I switched to a microwave popper.

I did so to avoid all the salt and chemicals. It's so good and so easy. Just put the kernels in the bowl and nuke them for 3 minutes. I don't top mine.

[TechBear_Seattle]

9. I have one of those

No oil, no hot air... crunchy and I get to control what goes on it. A small amount of real butter, some grated parmasian, YUM!

[Cobalt Violet]

22. It's much more economical that way and so much better tasting.

I like to re-pop the ones that didn't pop the first time.


:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

[cui bono]

5. I've also heard that microwaving changes the molecular structure of whatever

you use it on because of the way it heats. I heard that a nurse heated up some blood that had been refrigerated in microwave and them gave it to a patient and it may have killed them, I can't remember exactly what the outcome was, but it was said it was because the molecular structure of the blood had changed. So who knows what it's doing to food, especially when plastic is involved so much.

My microwave oven broke about the time that I heard that, 7-8 years ago, and I never replaced it. I don't miss it a bit. Nothing wrong with heating something up in a saucepan or toaster oven.

[TechBear_Seattle]

11. I remember that; it was heat damage, not the microwaves directly

Had the nurse dropped the bag into a pot of boiling water, the result would likely have been the same. Proteins "melt" in excessive heat, and blood is mostly protein and water. Get it too hot, and it is worse than useless.

[supernova]

40. So she basically cooked the blood.

Yuk.

[TechBear_Seattle]

44. Yup

Ever look at the bottom of the broiler pan after doing a steak? I doubt the blood was that cooked, but microwave ovens heat very unevenly and just a tiny bit of heat congealing would leave clumps bigger than what is necessary to cause a stroke or fatal blockage.

[kimmerspixelated]

13. Yes, I am looking for an inexpensive convection type oven.

But really, now that cooler temps are on the way, it's not such a big deal to cook on a regular stove. B4, it was just too dang hot!

[displacedtexan]

53. I found one on craigslist for $75.00!

I absolutely love it!

Good luck in your search!

[LisaM]

6. Why not just cook it the old-fashioned way....

On the stove, in a little oil? It tastes better, costs virtually nothing, and is apparently a lot safer.

I don't particularly like microwaved popcorn anyway - I like just popping the regular stuff. Not only is it cheaper, but it's fluffier, doesn't have that heavy chemical taste, and doesn't really create much more of a mess.

[kimmerspixelated]

16. Or just an air popper is good, too.

Noisy though.

[Kali]

19. air poppers dry it out too much

the do it yourself microwave poppers are ok and save on oil calories, but they sure do waste a lot of kernels or else burn a lot

best texture/flavor is stove top with a bit of oil

[Demit]

17. Only way to do it, IMO. With fresh melted butter. Plus you control the portion.

[tblue37]

7. Now I am glad I only eat the stuff without butter flavoring! (eom)

[Newsjock]

12. And what about those popcorn fiends at work?

When I started at this new job some years back, my chair was about 10 feet from the communal microwave oven, and yes, certain individuals felt an obligation to microwave popcorn several times a day.

After much complaining to the human-resources folks, I finally got the microwave moved into a separate room, but the odor still wafts the 50 feet or so whenever someone has the popcorn urge.

And yes, it makes me sick to my stomach every time.

The lawyers must be salivating at the prospects of this one. And sad to say, it'll probably take a boatload of lawyers to help rectify the damage done by this.

[kimmerspixelated]

15. What about movie theatre popcorn?

I assume most of it is artificial flavoring as well. If it contains that toxin, then they will soon have to have another type(maybe REAL butter!!) premeire!

[TechBear_Seattle]

28. Exact same thing

Whether or not you get the "Genuine artificial butter substitute" or leave it plain, the same flavoring is used in the "butter flavored salt" used to pop the stuff in the first place.

[lynnertic]

35. an ex of mine worked at a movie theatre

back then his theatre popped corn with coconut oil because of the high flash point.

[graywarrior]

21. Michio Kushi once told a group of listeners "wrap your microwave in a nice ribbon and

give it to your enemy."

I haven't used one since I heard that 15 years ago.

[Hekate]

23. Why is diacetyl still in use?! I stopped buying nuke popcorn after I read about the factory workers

The name alone --bronchiolitis obliterans--gave me nightmares. Something that obliterates the victims' bronchioles.

Even when the MSM informed us that "consumers" wouldn't be harmed, I thought why in hell would I buy a product knowing that people died of suffocation to bring it to me?

Hekate

[sce56]

24. Thanks My kids are upset since I won't buy the packets anymore Now I can show them this!

This is how we pop corn now! It works great it even has a place to put butter to melt into the pot as you stir it!

[leftchick]

26. Yuck! And see how the EPA has handled the problem?

<snip>

And while Pop Weaver has dropped diacetyl from its product, it remains in widespread use in thousands of other consumer products, including the microwave popcorn brands Orville Redenbacher and Act II.

Despite the worker safety findings -- and despite scores of jury decisions and settlements awarding millions of dollars to workers who sued after having their lungs destroyed by exposure to diacetyl -- neither the Food and Drug Administration nor the Consumer Product Safety Commission have investigated. The FDA years ago declared the chemical safe for consumption. Labels on almost all products containing it call it a flavoring and only rarely do the labels mention diacetyl.

The only government investigators to examine whether consumers are at risk -- whether diacetyl is released when consumers pop corn in their home microwaves, and if so, how much -- is the Environmental Protection Agency. But to the frustration of many public health workers, the findings of the EPA's study -- which began in 2003 and was completed last year -- have been released only to the popcorn industry.

In part, it was the EPA's study that led Pop Weaver to reformulate its flavoring without diacetyl, said Mike Weaver, chief executive officer of the 80-yearold family-owned company.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/329640_popcorn30.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

30. The problem seems to be...

That diacetyl harms the lungs only when it comes in contact with the lungs. When used "as directed" as a food additive, it is safe.

The problem is that manufacturing with it causes it to become airborne where workers breath it in and get their bronchii obliterated, and (now) it becomes airborne in the home via heating and can accumilate sufficiently to get breathed in with the same results. Hopefully, studies like this will get diacetyl banned entirely before too many more people die this horrible death.

[Miss Chybil]

27. I like my hot air popper. nt

[RayOfHope]

29. Ugh. Most microwave popcorn bags are coated with teflon also.

We pop ours on top of the stove.

[AlCzervik]

32. imo no one shoud be eating mocrowave popcorn, it is terrible for your teeth.

[NYC]

46. Why do you say microwave popcorn is terrible

for your teeth? Is it worse than regular popcorn? I'm curious.

[AlCzervik]

47. more un popped and half popped kernels and usually it gets dumped into a bowl

at the movies when you get get popcorn where it's actually fresh popped the kernels are usually all popped. My dentist and my daughters orthodontist warned me off microwave popcorn.

[NYC]

52. Thanks.

I eat regular popcorn when I eat it, and since I pop it, I know to avoid those rock hard kernels that haven't popped.

[colorado_ufo]

37. We have ALL got to stop eating crap like this.

Or just continue to prove Darwin to be correct.

[SmokingJacket]

41. It's so easy to make the stuff in a pan on the stove.

Just throw some in with your oil of choice -- butter, sunflower, whatever -- and pop away.

No lung transplant, just delicious popcorn.

Add cajun spice and nutritional yeast for an especially fine snack.

[Critters2]

42. I use one of these...

http://www.toastess.com/product_details.asp?product=30

It works, it's not toxic, and it's not made in China.

[triguy46]

43. Don't like it. Always tastes metallic to me.

[defendandprotect]

48. UNPLUG THE MICROWAVES, Folks -- even when they "off" they're ON ---

[Judi Lynn]

54. ConAgra to drop popcorn chemical linked to lung ailment

ConAgra to drop popcorn chemical linked to lung ailment
Updated 11m ago

OMAHA (AP) — The nation's largest microwave popcorn maker, ConAgra Foods, says it will change the recipe for its Orville Redenbacher and Act II brands over the next year to remove a flavoring chemical linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers.

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said the company decided to remove diacetyl (die-ASS-eh-til) from its popcorn because of the risk the chemical presents to workers who handle large quantities.

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

ConAgra's announcement comes a week after another popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn of Indianapolis, said it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-09-05-popcorn-lung_N.htm