Colorado Man Diagnosed Popcorn Worker’s Lung

If you are popcornholic, do take notice from the following report:

A 53-year-old man from Colorado enjoyed eating microwave buttered popcorn so much that he ate large portions daily for ten years – and then developed a rare disease called “popcorn worker’s lung.”

Bronchiolitis obliterans aka popcorn lung is a serious lung condition that can be life-threatening. The only chance of survival in a severe case is a lung transplant.

It was first noted in 2001 in workers at an American plant that manufactured microwavable popcorn. The Colorado man, who reportedly ate two or three bags of microwave extra-butter-flavored popcorn each day for ten years, is the first consumer to develop bronchiolitis obliterans.
Even back then, researchers singled out diacetyl , a chemical ingredient in the buttery flavoring of the popcorn, as the culprit, but not with 100 percent certainty.

Earlier this week, a team of Dutch researchers published a new study in the September issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, pointing once again to diacetyl as the chemical ingredient most likely to cause bronchiolitis obliterans.

Source: First Consumer Popcorn Lung Case @ efluxmedia