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Chronic exposure to high levels of a flavoring chemical called diacetyl, which is found in many foods and beverages, can cause lung damage. Now, a study suggests that even short-term exposures to this flavoring chemical can damage the lungs of mice when paired with a second issue, like the flu. Diacetyl, which gives microwave popcorn its buttery flavor, was first linked to flavorings-related lung disease in the early 2000's when a group of former microwave-popcorn factory workers came down with the illness. A similar lung disease has been seen among coffee roasters who inhale large concentrations of diacetyl, which is...

There’s nothing like freshly popped popcorn, especially when popped in one of those hand-cracked poppers with coconut oil. A lot of folks like to nuke their popcorn, and that’s where they could be running into some real trouble. Here’s the deal. Some researchers at the University of Minnesota discovered that the stuff that gives buttery flavor to microwave popcorn could trigger Alzheimer’s disease. They say the chemical diacetyl causes certain proteins to clump together in the brain, which, they say is a sure sign of Alzheimer’s. But wait, there’s more. Diacetyl also contributes to popcorn lung. Diacetyl is the stuff...

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) — A new study raises concern about chronic exposure of workers in industry to a food flavoring ingredient used to produce the distinctive buttery flavor and aroma of microwave popcorn, margarines, snack foods, candy, baked goods, pet foods and other products. It found evidence that the ingredient, diacetyl (DA), intensifies the damaging effects of an abnormal brain protein linked to Alzheimer's disease. The study appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.

(CBS News) An ingredient used in artificial butter flavoring for popcorn may worsen the effects of an abnormal brain protein that's been linked to Alzheimer's disease. A new study in Chemical Research in Toxicology examined diacetyl (DA), an ingredient used to produce the buttery flavor and smell in microwave popcorn, margarine, candy, baked goods, and even pet food. It is also created naturally in fermented drinks like beer, and gives some chardonnay wines its buttery taste, according to the study. Scientists at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis conducted an analysis of DA, a chemical which previously has been linked...

A Spokane man is the first customer to file a lawsuit against Conagra Foods for their microwave popcorn. The product in question was pulled from store shelves three years ago. That’s because a chemical inside was making its workers sick. It involves an artificial flavoring called diacetyl. For years it was put in popcorn to give it a nice smell but the aroma is allegedly what made one Spokane Valley man sick. A man who loves popcorn. Attorney Richard Eymann says the man had it in a bowl and sometimes “he’d lap it out of the bowl like a dog...

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 the safety of 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...