By David Michaels The simple, powerful statement on the website of FEMA, The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States, summarizing the trade association’s position: The Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association of the United States supports H.R.2693, legislation to assure workplace safety in flavor manufacturing. Thank you FEMA. Read their press release here. […]
Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl)
Congress May Force OSHA to Do Its Job (on Diacetyl at least)
By David Michaels Regular readers of this blog are probably aware of the many workplace hazards that OSHA has failed to address, including silica, beryllium, and, of course, diacetyl â the artificial butter-flavoring chemical thatâs associated with severe lung disease in workers at flavoring, food, and microwave popcorn plants. (Click here for our past posts […]
By Liz Borkowski While weâre waiting to hear what EPA and ConAgra have learned from studying emissions from microwave popcorn, itâs worth remembering that airborne artificial butter flavoring isnât the only concern associated with this particular convenience food. Rebecca Renner reported last year in Environmental Science & Technology about a study by FDA scientists on consumer […]
Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl)
Does Orville Redenbacher Know if Popping Popcorn at Home is Dangerous?
By David Michaels “The cooperation of ConAgra Foods and the EPA has yielded a comprehensive understanding of butter flavor emissions for consumers.” – Patricia Verduin, Senior Vice President Product Quality & Development, ConAgra Foods, Inc. in a November 29, 2004 letter to Paul Gilman, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development, U.S. EPA […]
By David Michaels We’ve been writing for the past few months about U.S. regulatory agencies’ failure to take meaningful action on diacetyl, a toxic component of artificial butter flavor, despite having been aware of its risks since at least the start of this decade. Now, mounting evidence suggests that some flavor manufacturers have known about […]
By David Michaels The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created more than thirty years ago to make the American workplace more safe. And officials there say that deaths and injuries on the job have declined on their watch. But critics say OSHA has dropped the ball when it comes to safety regulations for […]
Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl)
Look and Ye Shall Find: New Study of Lung Disease in Flavoring Workers
By David Michaels The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has just released a study examining lung disease and exposure to flavor chemicals among workers at the Carmi Flavor and Fragrance Company factory in Commerce, California. One or possibly two cases of bronchiolitis obliterans had been known to public health authorities before the […]
Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl)
Eight Months Later, Will FDA Finally Consider Diacetyl’s Safety?
By David Michaels Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT), chair of the House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee that funds the FDA has called on Food and Drug Administration to ban diacetyl until more research is completed. As we’ve written (here and here, for example), diacetyl is the artificial butter flavor chemical that has been crippling workers […]
Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl)
Preventing Flavor Workers’ Lung Disease: A Tale of Two Regulatory Systems
By David Michaels In the last few days, the national media has finally focused on the failure of OSHA to protect workers from devastating lung disease caused by exposure to artificial butter flavor. (The problem goes well beyond microwave popcorn factories, to the flavor industry and other snack food plants.) Articles in the Washington Post, […]
Flavoring Workers' Lung (Popcorn/Diacetyl)
Flavor Workersâ Lung Disease: What Do We Know and What Should Be Done?
By David Michaels All of a sudden, America has become acutely aware of the terrible lung disease caused by workplace exposure to artificial butter flavor. Last week, the failure of OSHA to do anything in response to the outbreak of cases across the country was the subject of several powerful newspaper articles (including a front […]