Popcorn company drops diacetyl

INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A manufacturer of microwave popcorn based in Indiana has decided to remove a potentially dangerous flavoring chemical from its products.

The family-owned Weaver Popcorn Co. makes Pop Weaver popcorn, several private brands and “Trails End,” a brand sold by the Boy Scouts of America.

Mike Weaver, the company’s chief executive officer, told The Seattle Post-Intelligencer the decision to take diacetyl out of its popcorn came partly because of a study by the Environmental Protection Agency that was only released to the industry.

"We have to have good flavors, but at the same time we have to have ingredients that consumers feel good about and we were hearing too many concerns raised about diacetyl," he said. "With these growing concerns and with EPA's actions, we felt it was prudent to stop using diacetyl and we have."

Diacetyl occurs naturally in many foods and is used to provide the buttery flavor for microwave popcorn. The chemical has been linked to serious respiratory diseases among workers in food-processing plants.