Study: Too much popcorn could be dangerous

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Sitting down with a bowl of popcorn and a movie is a great way to end a long week of classes, but students are thinking twice about it after a Denver man revealed he probably contracted bronchiolitis obliterans from munching on a bag of microwavable popcorn almost daily.\nThe disease has long been associated with the popcorn industry, even earning the nickname “popcorn lung.” The pathogen is a naturally-occurring by-product of fermentation, known as diacetyl. Diacetyl has a very strong butter taste. It’s often added to margarine to make it taste more like butter, and consequently, is also frequently added to microwaveable popcorn. Workers mixing large vats of the chemical are most at risk for developing the disease. \nIn fact, bronchiolitis obliterans, Latin for “obliterated airways,” can be caused by more than just diacetyl. Other industrial workers have also suffered from the disease which is serious and frequently fatal. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health became aware of the situation after several workers from a popcorn plant contracted bronchiolitis obliterans in 2000. They quickly formed a list of recommendations for snack food plant workers to follow. \nHow a consumer could come down with the disease is a mystery. The fact that only workers mixing large quantities of the compound usually contract bronchiolitis obliterans suggests that relatively high concentrations are necessary for the disease to develop. Contrary to that theory, several studies report between 0.74 and 5 parts per million of the diacetyl in air is enough to trigger the disease in humans. For comparison, the hospital found between 0.5-3 ppm of diacetyl in the Denver man’s microwave. \nThe Food and Drug Administration claims it has no jurisdiction over breathing vapors from food additives, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which is supposed to regulate workers’ exposure to hazardous situations, had no previous guidelines in place regarding diacetyl. They only recently started to form a set of standards that would be obligatory for all companies. \nDoctors at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, where the Denver man was diagnosed, said given his consumption of two bags of popcorn daily, the diagnosis of this otherwise-rare condition isn’t surprising. Snack food employees whose job is to microwave bags of popcorn all day have come down with the disease.