Hmmm - perhaps we should just all smoke then...

Butter flavor possible cause of lung disease

9/04/2007-According to an AP report, a doctor at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center has written to federal regulators that they may have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years.

It was just one case and the doctor cautioned that they cannot be sure that the patient's exposure to butter-flavored microwave popcorn from daily heavy preparation has caused his lung disease. However, there is currently no other plausible explanation, according to the doctor.

The lung disease was first noticed in workers who make flavorings or use them to produce microwave popcorn. Production workers employed by flavoring manufacturers (or those who use flavorings in the production process) often handle a large number of chemicals, many of which can be highly irritating to breathe in high concentrations.

Diacetyl has been used as a butter flavor ingredient for several years and is approved for this use by the Food and Drug Administration. It has been the subject of lawsuits by workers at food factories exposed to the flavoring.

Butter flavors used in microwave popcorn generally contain significantly more diacetyl than other types of flavors because of consumer preference, and microwave popcorn manufacturing and preparation processes.

The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association issued a statement Tuesday recommending that its members reduce "to the extent possible" the amount of diacetyl in butter flavorings they make.