What is warm, crunchy, tasty and buttery? Popcorn of course! This popular snack now has its own special time of year: October is now National Popcorn Poppin’ month. Who knew?
Popcorn.org states that Americans consume around 17 billion quarts of popcorn annually. All this popcorn adds up to billions of calories, but each serving of the oil-popped food has only 55 calories per cup, making it significantly healthier than other delicious snacks.
Popcorn is very easy to prepare. All one has to do is purchase microwaveable kernels, heat them in the microwave, and zap! It is ready to be enjoyed.
While microwavable popcorn is definitely convenient, new research has some consumers skeptical of enjoying it.
New studies show the butter flavoring used in many microwave popcorns, diacetyl, can be harmful. The chemical additive has been linked to serious lung problems in popcorn plant workers. The New York Times states that diacetyl has been linked to cases of a rare life-threatening disease called bronchitis obliterans, which is also known as popcorn lung. Popcorn lung blocks the airways of affected patients with inflammation and scar tissue, making it difficult to blow air out. Some plant workers have even required lung transplants because of it.
In Denver, Colorado at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center, doctors believe they have discovered the first consumer to develop popcorn lung from the fumes of microwavable popcorn. This person’s consumption of popcorn was out of the ordinary. To be more specific, this person made microwavable popcorn everyday, several times a day for many years. It is truly scary to think consuming popcorn can be risky to your health.
Many popcorn vendors have come to realize the dangers of diacetyl and are trying to find new ways to develop a recipe without it.
Since this new information on popcorn has surfaced, many consumers have concerns, but it’s safe to say that most will still enjoy this crunchy, tasty sweet snack, with caution of course!