Diacetyl is a chemical used as butter flavoring in foods such as microwave popcorn, and it has been linked to a condition found in those who work with the chemical and those who are frequently exposed to foods that contain the butter flavoring compound. The condition is called bronchiolitis obliterans, and its symptoms include a dry cough or shortness of breath occurring about two to eight weeks after exposure to the chemical. Fatigue and wheezing when you don’t have a cold is another known symptom. 

Early detection of the disease is critical. There are treatments available that can stabilize or slow down the progression of the disease, but treatments that are administered in the later stages of the disease are less effective. There is no cure, and the effects of the disease are irreversible. Early detection and intervention is critical.  

Most cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, or popcorn lung, have been diagnosed in factory workers. Those who make the compound or those who work with it to produce microwave popcorn were the first to come down with this disease. Their daily and prolonged exposure put them at the greatest risk of getting the disease the fastest, and unfortunately, developing popcorn lung is precisely what happened to microwave popcorn factory workers in Iowa and California. The companies that make diacetyl, the companies that use diacetyl, and OSHA have been slow to respond to the dangers of diacetyl exposure, and this puts workers in factories in other states at a similar risk.  

But it’s not only factory workers who should be concerned. Recently, in September of 2007, doctors from a renown lung research hospital diagnosed the first case of popcorn lung in a consumer of butter flavoring products. The man ate two to three bags of popcorn per day over the course of several years, which exposed him to the diacetyl in butter flavoring repeatedly on a daily basis. 

If you believe that you or a loved one has developed popcorn lung due to repeated exposure to diacetyl butter flavoring, please take action and contact us online or call us at 312-332-2872 to set up a free consultation.