Keep Snack Foods Real
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Keep Snack Foods Real
A surprising number of workers in popcorn factories are turning up with a rare lung disease now linked with airborne fumes from heated diacetyl, the chemical commonly used in the product’s artificial butter flavoring. Since 2001, academic studies have supported this link, and synthetic flavoring manufacturers have paid out $100+ million in lawsuit awards over the past five years.
While union leaders, researchers and concerned senators are calling for tougher manufacturing restrictions, less is known about the health effects of eating the popcorn or breathing the fumes at home or the office after the bag is microwaved. Due to increasing consumer concerns, some popcorn manufacturers recently said that they plan to remove diacetyl from their products. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has renewed its study of the issue.
