Pop corn fumes can be dangerous

World | Off the wall


The smell of buttery microwave popcorn can be intoxicating. But can it also be dangerous?

The question took on new significance recently when a doctor alerted federal regulatory agencies that a Colorado man who ate at least two bags every night for several years had "significant lung disease" similar to that seen in some microwave popcorn workers.

The illness - the first suspected case in a consumer - was linked to the man's habit of inhaling fumes from extra-buttery microwave popcorn, which contains the chemical diacetyl. The additive gives foods a buttery taste and has been linked to severe lung disease in some microwave popcorn and flavour plant workers.

Dr Cecile Rose, the lung specialist who examined the 53-year-old furniture salesman, says it "looks like a possible case, but we can't be sure." In her letter to federal officials, she said though it is hard to make a causal connection, "we have no other plausible explanation."