Butter flavour alternatives touted as replacements for the potentially harmful popcorn butter flavour diacetyl may be just as unsafe, warn researchers.
The artificial butter flavouring 2,3-pentanedione, used to provide butter taste and aroma in microwave popcorn is an ‘inhalation hazard’ that may cause severe lung disease in food industry workers, warns new research.
An artificial food flavoring compound used for its butter-like taste and mouthfeel may be linked with key processes in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to new research.
Bell Flavors and Fragrances has responded to concerns over the use
of diacetyl in popcorn by developing butter flavors that are free
from the additive.
EU regulators and processors say they are examining the use of diacetyl for foods, following reports of hundreds of US workers falling ill from a deadly lung disease linked to the inhalation of the popcorn flavouring chemical.
Flavor firm Wild reports seeing a surge in interest for its
diacetyl-free butter flavors, following rekindled concerns in
recent months surrounding the safety of the ingredient.
Flavor manufacturers and flavored-food producers need to develop a
timely, effective response to identify and reduce cases of lung
disease in workers exposed to flavors such as diacetyl, said the
CDC in a report last week.
