Microwaved popcorn may have caused lung disease

Reported September 05, 2007

A fondness for microwave buttered popcorn may have led a 53-year-old Colorado man to develop a serious lung condition that until now has been found only in people working in popcorn plants.

Lung specialists and even a top industry official say the case, the first of its kind, raises serious concerns about microwave butter-flavored popcorn.

"We've all been working on the workplace safety side of this, but the potential for consumer exposure is very concerning," said John B. Hallagan, general counsel for the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States, a trade association of companies that make butter flavorings. "Are there other cases out there? There could be."

A spokeswoman for the Food and Drug Administration said that the agency was considering the case as part of a review of the safety of diacetyl, which adds the buttery taste to many microwave popcorns, including Orville Redenbacher and Act II.

Producers of microwave popcorn said their products were safe. "We're incredibly interested in learning more about this case. However, we are confident that our product is safe for consumers' normal everyday use," said Stephanie Childs, a spokeswoman for ConAgra Foods, the nation's largest maker of microwave popcorn.

Childs said ConAgra planned to remove diacetyl from its microwave popcorn products "in the near future."

Pop Weaver has already taken diacetyl out of its popcorn bags "because of consumer concerns" but not because the company believes the chemical is unsafe for consumers, said Cathy Yingling, a company spokeswoman.

Dr. Cecile Rose, director of the occupational disease clinical programs at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, said that she first saw the Colorado man in February.

The man told Rose that he had eaten microwave popcorn at least twice a day for more than 10 years. Rose measured levels of diacetyl in the man's home and found levels were similar to those in microwave popcorn plants. She asked the man to stop eating microwave popcorn.

Six months later, his lung function has not only stopped deteriorating but has actually improved slightly, Rose said.