Microwave Popcorn Concerns
The buttery scent used in microwave popcorn is the cause of a harmful, fatal lung disease. Bronchiolitis Obliterans, or Worker’s Lung, has been linked to a chemical used in food flavoring called diacetyl.
This chemical, when heated, releases a toxin that destroys tiny airways in the lungs if inhaled. First reports of this issue came out in 1985 when workers came down with the disease after working around the chemical in food factories. More recently people working around the popcorn have been diagnosed with the same problem. Consumers of microwave popcorn are put in the same danger of diacetyl if they inhale the fumes of a freshly opened bag of popcorn straight out of the microwave.
The solution? Don’t open up a bag of hot popcorn and inhale the fumes, no matter how great they may smell. Instead, wait for the bag to cool.
Sources:
http://alifespentwondering.com/articles/5/
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April 29 2009 05:30 am | Healthy Living and Natural Health