Halifax (Nova Scotia) Chronicle, September 10, 2007

SAFETY WARNING IGNORED

[Rachel's introduction: The chemical known as diacetyl was identified by scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002 as the cause of a debilitating and sometimes fatal lung disease among workers in the plants where it is produced, as well as plants where it is added to popcorn. Now a popcorn consumer been reported ill.]

By Jeff Nesmith

Over a year after they were given the secret results of an Environmental Protection Agency study of potential health risks of a chemical in microwave popcorn, major popcorn producers have begun removing the substance from their product.

The results of the EPA study still have not been made public.

The chemical, known as diacetyl, was identified by scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2002 as the cause of a debilitating and sometimes fatal lung disease among workers in the plants where it is produced, as well as plants where it is added to popcorn.

CDC's National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has called the condition bronchiolitis obliterans, or "popcorn lung."

Diacetyl is used to make popcorn smell "buttery." An EPA study of whether that appetizing smell endangers consumers was launched in the aftermath of the CDC report.

In April 2006, EPA scientists at Research Triangle Park, N.C., completed an analysis of air released from bags of microwaved popcorn, internal agency documents indicate.

Copies of the results were provided to popcorn producers three months later, but for the following 13 months EPA has refused to make a report containing data available to the general public.

During that time, Americans have consumed more than 750 million pounds of home-popped popcorn, according to statistics posted online by an industry group.

Last week, a health advocacy organization at George Washington University here revealed that a Colorado physician had notified the Food and Drug Administration in July that she had a patient who had developed "significant lung disease whose clinical findings are similar to those described in affected workers."

The patient had eaten "several bags of extra-butter-flavored microwave popcorn" per day for several years, said the physician, Dr. Cecile Rose of the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

David Michaels, an associate professor of environmental and occupational health at George Washington University and director of the university's Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy, last week posted a copy of Rose's letter on his blog, the Pump Handle.

On Aug. 28, Weaver Popcorn Co. of Indianapolis became the first microwave popcorn company to announce that it was removing diacetyl from its product.

"It was a challenge to eliminate diacetyl from our flavorings and still maintain the great buttery taste that consumers love, but we've done it," Mike Weaver, president of the company, said in a news release.

He said the action was taken because "we know consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about this issue."

The Associated Press reported that other large popcorn producers, together responsible for more than 80 per cent of the U.S.'s supply, said they would follow suit.

In response to a request under the federal Freedom of Information Act, EPA recently released to Cox Newspapers several hundred pages of documents related to the diacetyl study. However, it withheld the study report, as well as comments the agency received from popcorn companies after they were allowed to see the document.

The industry comments were withheld under a provision that exempts confidential business information from mandatory disclosure.

The study itself was withheld under a FOIA provision that allows agencies to withhold documents that are part of their pre-decisional, deliberative processes.

EPA public relations personnel have said the study was being held back so that it could be submitted to a peer-reviewed scientific journal for publication. That has not yet taken place.

The records released to Cox show that EPA bowed in 2004 to industry pressure regarding the manner in which the study results would be released.

This happened after an official of one company -- Weaver Popcorn - warned that media attention resulting from the study "could irreparably damage the industry."

Andrew Miller, then a Weaver vice-president and now director of the Indiana Department of Agriculture, appealed to EPA scientist Jacky Ann Rosati to withhold preliminary results until the final study was completed.

"If this is combined with the issues surrounding worker safety and the popularity of popcorn, the media could have a field day," Miller said in an e-mail.

He said he expected media coverage would "go something like this: "The EPA completed its research on America's favorite microwave popcorn and found that 11 nasty compounds circulate through your microwave when it cooks.' "

He warned that "any misstep could have a sizeable economic impact," adding: "I can only imagine what will happen to sales and subsequently jobs and companies if consumers start believing that microwave popcorn is turning their kitchen into a gas chamber."

A few days later Rosati, a principal investigator on the study, replied that "after lengthy discussion with our public relations staff, we will likely publish one complete paper on this study."

Copyright 2007 The Halifax Herald Limited