A replacement ingredient for a butter flavoring found to cause lung disease when inhaled by workers, also is a respiratory hazard, U.S. researchers say. Lead investigator Ann F. Hubbs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Morgantown, W.Va., said the ingredient 2,3-pentanedione, used to impart the flavor and aroma of butter in microwave popcorn, is a respiratory hazard that can also alter gene expression in the brain of rats. Food manufacturers started using pentanedione when another butter flavoring, diacetyl, was found to cause bronchiolitis obliterans -- a life-threatening and non-reversible lung disease in workers who inhaled the substance, Hubbs said. The study, published in The American Journal of Pathology, said acute pentanedione exposure had respiratory toxicity comparable to diacetyl in laboratory animals. "Our study demonstrates that pentanedione, like diacetyl, damages airway epithelium in laboratory studies. This finding is important because the damage is believed to be the underlying cause of bronchiolitis obliterans," Hubbs said in a statement. "Our study also supports established recommendations that flavorings should be substituted only when there is evidence that the substitute is less toxic than the agent it replaces." The study involved rats exposed for 6 hours to different concentrations of pentanedione, a comparable concentration of diacetyl, or filtered air. The researchers microscopically examined the brains, lungs and nasal tissues up to 20 hours after exposure. "In 2007, ConAgra Foods removed added diacetyl from our microwave popcorn and replaced it with a new butter flavoring that has no added diacetyl and no pentanedione," a spokeswoman for ConAgra told UPI. "We made this change to address any consumer concerns and also to further ensure a safe work environment for the employees working in our popcorn facilities."
GMT 18:35 2018 Thursday ,11 January
Syrian refugee sets himself ablaze at UN office in LebanonGMT 18:48 2018 Tuesday ,09 January
Novo Nordisk woos Belgian nano-drug makerGMT 17:54 2017 Wednesday ,27 December
Medical evacuations begin from besieged Syria rebel bastionGMT 12:14 2017 Monday ,25 December
MoHAP successfully conducts cochlear implant operationGMT 18:24 2017 Sunday ,24 December
Palestinian conjoined twins arrive in RiyadhGMT 19:05 2017 Monday ,18 December
new! magazine names fitness & food editorGMT 17:03 2017 Wednesday ,29 November
Spain reports case of 'mad cow disease'GMT 14:05 2017 Saturday ,11 November
EU can't agree on new licence for controversial glyphosate weedkiller
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor