Warning PoPampered Cheforn Lung --Have You Heard??

[chefjwr]

I just heard about this over the holiday but apparently it is old news. This condition has been linked to a certain ingredient in microwave buttered popcorn. I think it is diacytle ?? It gets in the air after you microwave popcorn that contains this ingredient. Do a search on your computer and :yuck: read more about it.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Yup, I've heard of it. I tend to take all of these dire warnings with a grain of salt until there is some kind of definitive proof. We jump to conclusions way too quickly and legislate perfectly good products out of existence to replace it with something worse. Transfats and ethanol come to mind for some reason.So, if you eat microwave popcorn, you're going to die. If you don't eat microwave popcorn, guess what, you're going to die anyway.

 

[chefsteph07]

This is only if you eat an EXCESSIVE amount of popcorn EVERY DAY..I saw a story of a guy who ate 3-4 bags of the popcorn for years and he develeoped it, but I think the occasional bag for movie night or a snack once in a while is ok.
And I agree, about taking these warnings with a grain of salt.

 

[kspry]

Yeah, I saw the same thing, and that guy who ate it constantly.

The Boy Scouts had to put "Contains No diacetyl" stickers all over their popcorn this year because of it being in the news.

 

[janetupnorth]

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Danger from Microwave Popcorn Butter FlavoringYes, as KG said, yet to be determined and anything not in moderation can kill anyone.I'm still not happy with aspertame - makes me sicker than you would believe!!!!We were a lot skinnier and better off 30-40 years ago that we are today with all the "modern substitutes"...only reason we live longer is because of OTHER medical advancements...

 

[MissChef]

Thanks for the warning chefjwr! I have heard about that, and I do tend to feel the way KG and Janetupnorth do. It seems everything has a risk! I don't eat that much popcorn, but it's still good to know about and be aware of! And for that, thanks for passing along the info! :balloon:

 

[chefsteph07]

Yeah, I saw the same thing, and that guy who ate it constantly.

The Boy Scouts had to put "Contains No diacetyl" stickers all over their popcorn this year because of it being in the news.

That guy was something else, wasn't he? And then they interviewed him and he was STILL eating it! How ridiculous! LOL
Lay off the popcorn buddy!

 

[lkprescott]

How... or rather who could eat that much popcorn in a day? And if you did... wouldn't it just be healthier to air pop it anyway? Or to use one of those microwave thingies that pop the corn without the nasty additives? How healthy are you gonna be eating this stuff all the time anyway? Well... at least he's getting his fiber...

 

[chefjwr]

One thing to remember is that the chemical is not a problem because of eating the popcorn but because it is released into the air that the people in the house breathe. What I read said that some people will have a reaction and some will not -- in other words with the same exposure, some will develop scar tissue in their lungs and some will not. The scar tissue results in a significantly lower lung capacity and it is not reversible or treatable. I still need to read more. It seems this became an issue in 2004 and I can't tell if since then this chemical has been removed from microwave popcorn or if it never was listed as an ingredient even if it contains the chemical.