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.

Diacetyl is a chemical used to impart the flavor of butter in popcorn, pastries, frozen foods, and candy. Each day that they report to work, tens of thousands of food processing workers are exposed to Diacetyl--a dangerous chemical that has been connected to a potentially fatal lung disease. There have been dozens of cases of what has become known as "popcorn workers lung," or bronchiolitis obliterans--a severe, disabling, and often-fatal lung disease experienced by food industry workers across the nation. Despite compelling evidence that Diacetyl presents a grave danger and significant risk of life threatening illness to employees exposed to the chemical, there are currently no OSHA standards requiring exposures to be controlled.

Learn more about diacetyl butter flavoring dangers and lawsuits.