Love popcorn? Who doesn’t – and generally the more butter the better. According to a New York Times report, this butter isn’t butter at all – it’s most commonly Diacetyl (Couldn’t they have come up with a more appealing name for fake butter?). This substance, when researched at the OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) website, makes it clear that various studies have linked this chemical agent to a number of just plain bad results.
A disease referred to as “Popcorn Worker Lung,” or officially ‘bronchiolitis obliterans,’ has had no regulatory action taken even after years of studies. According to OSHA, there are studies which have resulted in the death of 1 out of 4 rats after six hours of exposure to the artificial tasty stuff.
More importantly, it’s not just on the popcorn. It’s actually only created from the heating process involved and is carried in the steam that many of us look forward to smelling when opening the bag after taking it out of the microwave. The man in the New York Times article referred to himself as ‘Mr. Popcorn,’ often consuming two bags of microwave popcorn daily.
“When he broke open the bags, after the steam came out, he would often inhale the fragrance because he liked it so much,� Dr. Rose said. “That’s heated diacetyl, which we know from the workers’ studies is the highest risk.� [Source: New York Times]
While Con Agra has announced they intend to stop using this product in the future, Pop Weaver has already stopped citing ‘consumer concerns.’ It’s disturbing that a product, known to cause bad health in the workers who are around it every day, has had no moral or legislative action to force them to stop potentially causing consumers harm.
Tip
If you are going to make yourself some popcorn, try this:
- buy unbuttered popcorn,
- make it in the microwave without standing in front of it, inhaling the exhaust.
- When done, open the bag away from your face and do not fill your lungs with the steam – it’s hot and could burn you.
- Dump the popcorn into a bowl or other suitable container.
- Melt some good ‘ol real butter in the microwave for 15-20 seconds in a glass container.
- Pour the butter over your popcorn in several applications, tossing the popcorn to spread coverage after each application.
- Enjoy!
Sources
- New York Times: ‘Doctor Links a Man’s Illness to a Microwave Popcorn Habit‘
- U.S. Department of Labor / OSHA: ‘Chemical Sampling Information: Diacetyl‘
- University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine – Department of Pathology: Bronchiolitis Obliterans
