SafetyIssues Personal and Public Safety News Articles: Can Popcorn Harm Lungs?

Can Popcorn Harm Lungs?
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Staff writer for safetyissues.com on 09/07/07 08:25:00
 
A man who consumed two bags of popcorn daily had problems with his breathing.
His doctor, who is a researcher on popcorn lung, suspected he had contracted the
disease when he began describing the symptoms he had been suffering.
The doctor had researched the disease before in a factory setting and was
familiar with the symptoms. But she had never heard of a consumer connection
before. In popcorn lung the bronchial tubes, which are very small airways in the
lungs, are blocked by inflammation and scar tissue and the patient has
difficulty blowing air out. In medicine, the condition is known as bronchiolitis
obliterans -- literally, obliteration of the bronchials.
Popcorn lung has long been detected in popcorn factory workers who inhale a lot
of fumes from a chemical called diacetyl. This is a natural substance that is
used as a flavoring ingredient. In the factory, it is heated to give microwave
popcorn its buttery taste. Some factory workers have died from popcorn lung,
while others have needed lung transplants in order to be able to breathe and
survive.
The doctor decided to send an industrial hygienist to check conditions at
Watson’s house. The hygienist found that in the patient’s home, the levels
of a flavoring ingredient called diacetyl were similar to that in microwave
popcorn manufacturing plants. Because Watson was such a fanatic for popcorn, he
was heating a lot of it in the microwave before eating it.
The popcorn industry has already acted on the issue. Manufacturers have
announced they would eliminate the flavoring ingredient, diacetyl, from their
product. They also pointed out that excessive amounts of diacetyl were involved
in the known cases of popcorn lung.
Eating foods that contain diacetyl does not appear to be dangerous. However,
breathing fumes that have diacetyl in them does appear to be hazardous, as what
happened to microwave popcorn factory workers.
Note that microwave popcorn will emit hot fumes when you open the bag before the
cooked contents have cooled down. The man was reported to have the habit of
inhaling the aroma of microwave popcorn that had just been popped and before it
had cooled. His doctor reports that his symptoms did not get worse when he was
ordered to stop making microwave popcorn.
It may also be time for federal agencies to act. Some physicians have already
urged the FDA to stop giving diacetyl the designation of a food ‘generally
recognized as safe’.