Ah! The aroma of popcorn wafting through the air! I admit it. I’m a popcorn junkie. Have been since I was a child. When we first moved to Florida in the early 70’s my parents used to send me bags of home grown popcorn from local Nebraska farmers — 10 to 15 pounds at a time. Each time they visited they would put popcorn in their suitcases. I’ve owned nearly every kind of popcorn popper but mostly just put oil in the pan, added the popcorn, put on the lid and shook the pan like crazy until it was all popped. I must admit, microwave popcorn has added a true convenience, and I do keep it in the house. But now with new studies showing possible serious health consequences from the fumes of microwave popcorn I’m glad I still frequently shake the pan like crazy.
It seems that the buttery taste and smell of the microwave popcorn comes from a substance called diacetyl (I have no idea how to pronounce it!) However, I’ve learned that it occurs naturally in foods such as butter, cheese, and some fruits and that the Food and Drug Administration has approved it to be used as a flavor ingredient. The problem seems to arise when it is inhaled, particularly in manufacturing settings, during the making of the flavoring or when adding it to foods such as popcorn or other buttery flavored foods such as poundcakes. The chemical has been linked to a rare life-threatening disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, more commonly known as popcorn lung. It’s a progressive disease which can presently only be treated with a lung transplant. Numerous lawsuits have been filed by workers exposed to this chemical. Congress is presently visiting the issue. The House voted on September 26, 2007 to have the government regulate food workers’ exposure to diacetyl.
Microwave popcorn producers have already found a substitute for diacetyl; and Weaver, ConAgra Foods, Inc, General Mills Inc. and American Pop Corn Company have already said they would stop using diacetyl. I don’t know the target dates. This is certainly not to say that people occasionally inhaling the fumes from microwave popcorn will get popcorn lung and need a lung transplant. But it does give one more reason to consider organic foods without additives.
Gotta run. Need my fix. Need to put the oil in the pan and toss in the kernels!