Microwave Popcorn is Bad for the Lungs

I groaned when a friend first broached this subject – what, now I can’t eat microwave popcorn. But it’s unpleasantly real.

According to numerous reports, including this item on the WAPO web page, a chemical used in artificial butter flavor called diacetyl is linked to severe lung disease in workers at microwave popcorn factories. The story quotes David Michaels of the department of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University , "It's not some carcinogen where you get cancer 30 years from now or something. The people are dying right in front of you," Michaels said. "You can't wait until you have all the evidence. You have to regulate it."

This nifty web site DefendingScience.org has a great summary of the problem.

According to other news stories the danger to workers may extend beyond microwave popcorn to the many other snack foods that use butter flavoring.

To its credit, NIOSH issued an official alert in 2004, Preventing Lung Disease in Workers Who Use or Make Flavorings (NIOSH Publication No. 2004-110), but it’s all still voluntary for companies to change their practices. Instead, the threat of litigation and civil liability may force changes, but won’t repair lung tissue. As of now, diacetyl still appears on the Food and Drug Administration’s “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) list.