Don’t inhale the volatile odors coming out of the microwave popcorn bag till it cools. These vapors contain chemicals that will permanently scar lung tissue. You thought passive smoking was bad?
The story starts with workers manufacturing microwave popcorn. During production, the chemical diacetyle was saturating the air. This compound is used to give the buttery flavor and smell to popcorn. It’s safe when ingested, but when the chemical takes to the air or vaporizes in the microwave, it irreversibly damages the lungs. Employees of these factories were called “popcorn workers lung” victims with some even needing lung transplants. Many had respiratory damage that was permanent.
Word got out to the public because of lawsuits being filed against the microwave popcorn companies. Employees won multiple suits because of proof that diacetlye in the air destroyed their lung tissue. Consumers nuking multiple bags of popcorn daily also filed suit and won for damage to their respiratory systems. Some got pulmonary disease because they
Current Popcorn Workers With Their Safety Gear 🙂
were popping high numbers of bags for free giveaways at their video store jobs.
So the microwave popcorn companies turned to alternate chemicals to replace the damaging diacetyl. This substitute chemicals are also vaporized and had similar health risks. One of the new ingredients used to replace toxic volatile diacetyle is called 2,3-pentanedione. More problems were discovered written up here in a Science News article:
Your safest bet is purchasing a hot air corn popper. You can then add whatever ingredients you like to the popcorn afterwards. Throw in some spices, shredded cheese, nutritional yeast or even some dehydrated butter buds. This way you eliminate exposure to lung destroying chemicals added by the processing manufacturers. You will also cut out almost 50% of the calories that come from added fats.
Popcorn is an extremely healthy snack. High in powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. These protective chemicals are also found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Popcorn is 100% whole grain product that is loaded with fiber.
If you are going to purchase microwave popcorn, please read those labels. Otherwise, a cheaper, better, safer way is to follow the zany Joy Bauer.
Check out what Joymiester has to say below: