Popcorns

This is one of the question i found in readers digest:

I read that the chemicals in microwave popcorn are dangerous. Are they?

You can continue to eat your favorite movie munchie without fear, says the FDA. The chemical in question is diacetyl, used to make butter flavoring. Recently, a number of factory workers who work near heated vats of the flavoring developed lung disease. This prompted an EPA study, the results of which are due later.

Diacetyl is found naturally in real butter and it's safe to eat, says George Pauli, the FDA's acting director of food additive safety. But at industrial levels, when large amounts of hot vapors containing diacetyl are breathed in for extended periods, it may damage delicate lung tissue.

Bottom line: The amount of diacetyl released from individual bags is so small that there's no evidence it poses any risk, says Pauli.

Source: RD pg.182 July, 2004