PRESS ARTICLES

Associated Press, "More workers file lawsuits over popcorn flavoring"

Dozens of plant workers who claim their health was damaged by exposure to a chemical used to give a buttery flavor to microwave popcorn have filed lawsuits in Cincinnati against makers of the flavoring. At least 43 workers filed lawsuits claiming their lungs were irreversibly damaged by inhaling fumes from the chemical diacetyl, which provides the buttery taste. More...

Cleveland Plain Dealer, "Did artificial flavoring hurt woman's lungs? Popcorn factory worker in Cincinnati court today"

After spending nearly a decade working at an Ohio popcorn factory, Kathryn Rayburn developed an incurable lung disease. Doctors say her lung capacity is just a third of what it's supposed to be because of her workplace exposure to a butter flavoring called diacetyl. Rayburn, 48, faces off in a Cincinnati courtroom today against makers of the flavorings she believes hurt her lungs. At the same time, the Obama administration is kick-starting a long-stalled effort to develop workplace standards for the food ingredient that federal officials have linked to lung damage when it is inhaled. More...

Law 360, "Jury Hands Deceased Popcorn Worker $7.5M"

A federal jury rendered a $7.5 million verdict in favor of an American Pop Corn Co. employee one day after the man died of lung and heart failure related to the condition he had claimed was caused by working with buttery flavoring used to make microwave popcorn. More...

Associated Press, "Popcorn firms removing flavoring chemical; Additive diacetyl linked to lung ailments in factory workers"

          The nation's four biggest makers of microwave popcorn have removed a flavoring chemical linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers from nearly all their products. The companies say all their microwave popcorn recipes should be changed by January. But it might take several months for the reformulated popcorn to replace all the older varieties on store shelves. More...

Associated Press, "California Struggles with its own Diacetyl Problem"

          When Irma Ortiz walked into Dr. Phil Harber's Los Angeles office last year, it was the end of a frustrating medical journey. For years, doctors said she had asthma. Or bronchitis. They prescribed medicine, then sent her on her way. She kept coughing. She got weaker. By December 2005, the 45-year-old woman who could once lift 50-pound boxes without breaking a sweat could work no more. More...

Associated Press, "Doctor warns consumers of popcorn fumes"

           Consumers, not just factory workers, may be in danger from fumes from buttery flavoring in microwave popcorn, according to a warning letter to federal regulators from a doctor at a leading lung research hospital.

          A pulmonary specialist at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center has written to federal agencies to say doctors there believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years.

Cincinati Enquirer, "Butter-chemical bill unveiled; Lawmakers hope to force OSHA to act on Diacetyl Dangers"

          Frustrated with what they say is foot-dragging by the Bush administration, 14 Democratic members of Congress have introduced a bill aimed at lessening worker exposure to a potentially deadly chemical used to make butter flavorings. The chemical, called diacetyl, replicates the flavor of butter in popcorn and other foods and was the subject of a May 27 Enquirer article. It is not banned, and no exposure limits have been set in production plants, but lawmakers, unions and occupational-health experts have called for establishment of controls on diacetyl. More...

Insurance News.net, "Diacetyl Butter Flavoring Dangers: Food and Commercial Workers Applaud Congressional Effort to Force OSHA to Do Its Job"

          The UFCW applauds Congressional efforts to force the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to regulate Diacetyl--a dangerous chemical that has killed at least three workers and injured hundreds of others. Today, U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) introduced H.R. 2693, a bill which would compel OSHA to issue a standard regulating worker exposure to this deadly chemical. More...

Orange Bulletin.com, "Buttery flavor might be harmful to your health"

          Bronchiolitis obliterans, a severe form of lung disease, causes shortness of breath, coughing and lung destruction. Although the disease is very rare, it has been affecting certain workers at an alarming rate. Workers exposed to the chemical, diacetyl, which imparts butter flavoring to foods and beverages, have been developing bronchiolitis obliterans far above that which would be expected. Concerns began centering on diacetyl after a cluster of bronchilotits obliterans was discovered among workers at a popcorn factory in the Midwest. More...

New York Times, "Popcorn Butter Flavoring-Factory Illnesses Raise Inquiries"

          The workers, by and large, have been young and healthy. None were smokers, and none had any history of lung disease. But after working at plants that produce food flavorings, they all had one thing in common: they could not breathe. Over the last several years, California health officials have been tracking a handful of workers in flavoring factories who have been incapacitated with a rare, life-threatening lung condition — bronchiolitis obliterans — for which there is no cure or treatment. More...

Sacramento Bee, "More lung damage found: Another 22 workers have breathing problems linked to butter flavoring"

          Ongoing medical screening of California flavoring industry workers has turned up another 22 young employees with abnormally low lung capacity -- evidence of chemical poisoning on the job -- a top state health official said. The workers will undergo further testing to determine whether they have a "fixed obstructive airway" disease, an untreatable impairment strongly linked to a butter-mimicking chemical called diacetyl, said Kevin Reilly, the health department's deputy director of preventative services. More...