| In: Unsafe Foods
Dial M for Microwave Popcorn Murder: More on Diacetyl and Popcorn Lung
The popcorn lung story is all over the Internet and with it, the inevitable plays on words, “Big Popcorn,” “Hot Buttered Death,” and so forth. ConAgra, manufacturer of the Orville Redenbacher and Act II brands of microwave popcorn that contain the deadly flavor additive, diacetyl, announced today that they will discontinue use of the additive.
ConAgra’s announcement comes a week after another popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn of Indianapolis, said it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern.
ConAgra doesn’t know how soon it will be able to replace diacetyl with a different butter flavoring, Childs said, but the change will be made sometime over the next year.
“We’ve made that decision based on the knowledge for the potential risk to our employees,” Childs said.
The company has already been making changes at its popcorn plants over the past few years to reduce employee exposure to diacetyl, she said.
But the company doesn’t believe diacetyl in popcorn represents a safety risk to consumers, Childs said.
“We’re fully confident that microwave popcorn is safe for consumers in the home,” she said.
We have to expect such equivocation from food manufacturers when millions of dollars, potential lawsuits and public image are at stake. However, it is alarming that ConAgra does not give the impression of being ready to take immediate action, such as a recall of products already on the shelves.
Long before the Associated Press and the rest of the mainstream media discovered the story, David Michaels, PhD, MPH, of The Pump Handle, a blog multi-authored by several public health professionals, had been covering the popcorn lung story extensively, for some time. You can find even more of Dr. Michaels’ research on popcorn lung – bronchiolitis obliterans – on DefendingScience.org.