Bacon and eggs are the favorite breakfast of Americans. But many people does not have a clue about a hazardous chemical associated to their food.

Diacetyl is one of the compounds that gives butter and certain food flavorings their characteristic taste and aroma. For this reason, manufacturers of margarines or similar oils based products typically add diacetyl to the final product, which would otherwise be tasteless. Food flavorings containing diacetyl are used in many snack foods such as microwave popcorn and in baked goods, pet foods, candies, and several other food products.

Problems Associated with Diacetyl

Diacetyl is a dangerous chemical additive that has damaged and destroyed the lungs of numerous popcorn and food flavoring plant workers.

According to a study commissioned by the Seattle P-I newspaper, top-selling butter substitutes release diacetyl vapor when heated. Some products release diacetyl vapors in such a high volume that they could pose a potential health risk to professional cooks who stand for hours over hot grills or frying pans and use large amounts of these butter substitutes. These people may develop a rare as well as fatal respiratory disease called Bronchiolitis Obliterans. Bronchiolitis Obliterans is otherwise known as Popcorn Workers Lung.

Some cooks even shut off the ventilators above their grills due to noise. This can be extremely dangerous because of the increased amount of the chemical they are being exposed to.

According to the manufacturers of these products, home users face no health risk because the duration of their exposure is much shorter. But the fact is that nobody knows if this is correct as the government has not conducted any tests to verify this.

In the U.S., there are about 3.7 million cooks of all types and another 2.5 million other kitchen workers in food preparation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says. They may note that the risks of diacetyl exposure are still unclear. Recent warnings to popcorn factory workers about the dangers of developing bronchiolitis obliterans have now been extended to consumers as well.

Free initial consultation - If you or a loved one has suffered an injury, illness or death, that seems to be associated with diacetyl, please fill out and submit the form at the right or contact us today at 1-800-780-2686

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