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To: richardred who wrote (998)	9/2/2007 11:11:35 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3363

Gulf Arabs accept Iran offer for talks on free trade pact. Getting ready for US departure. India and China will support the initiative. Message 23847366 China and OPEC cash pile to finance: Message 23847365

To: richardred who wrote (998)	9/5/2007 1:28:18 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 3363

ConAgra Will Drop Popcorn Chemical Wednesday September 5, 12:26 pm ET By Josh Funk, AP Business Writer ConAgra Says It Will Drop Popcorn Chemical Linked to Lung Ailment OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- The nation's largest microwave popcorn maker, ConAgra Foods Inc., said Wednesday it will change the recipe for its Orville Redenbacher and Act II brands over the next year to remove a flavoring chemical linked to a lung ailment in popcorn plant workers. click here The decision comes a day after a doctor at a leading lung research hospital said in a warning letter to federal regulators that consumers, not just factory workers, may be in danger from fumes from buttery flavoring in microwave popcorn. ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said the company decided to remove the butter flavoring diacetyl from its popcorn because of the risk the chemical presents to workers who handle large quantities. The chemical diacetyl has been linked to cases of bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare life-threatening disease often called popcorn lung. ConAgra's announcement comes a week after another popcorn manufacturer, Weaver Popcorn Co. of Indianapolis, said it would replace the butter flavoring ingredient because of consumer concern. ConAgra doesn't know how soon it will be able to replace diacetyl with a different butter flavoring, Childs said, but the change will be made sometime over the next year. "We've made that decision based on the knowledge for the potential risk to our employees," Childs said. The Omaha-based company has already been making changes at its popcorn plants over the past few years to reduce employee exposure to diacetyl, she said. But the company doesn't believe diacetyl in popcorn represents a safety risk to consumers, Childs said. "We're fully confident that microwave popcorn is safe for consumers in the home," she said. It was reported Tuesday that a pulmonary specialist at Denver's National Jewish Medical and Research Center had written to federal agencies to say doctors there believe they have the first case of a consumer who developed lung disease from the fumes of microwaving popcorn several times a day for years. Dr. Cecile Rose sent the letter to federal health officials in July. But the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association said that Rose's finding does not suggest a risk from eating microwave popcorn. The concern instead focuses on workers inhaling it in manufacturing settings -- either in making the flavoring or adding it to food products ranging from popcorn to pound cakes. The Washington, D.C.-based association has said several flavor manufacturers are either researching alternatives to diacetyl or are already marketing butter flavors free of the chemical. The trade group said the FDA has approved the use of diacetyl as a flavor ingredient, and diacetyl occurs naturally in foods such as butter, cheese and fruits. ConAgra Foods Inc.: conagrafoods.com Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association: femaflavor.org biz.yahoo.com

To: richardred who wrote (998)	9/17/2007 1:23:30 PM
From: richardred	Respond to of 3363

Health Blog Q&A: Microwave Popcorn and Lung Disease Posted by Jacob Goldstein Did a furniture salesman’s love of microwave popcorn give him a debilitating lung disease? It’s possible, according to Cecile Rose (pictured), a pulmonologist who is an expert on the condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans. A few years back, public health officials realized that diacetyl, a chemical used in the ersatz butter flavoring on microwave popcorn, probably caused the disease in people who worked in popcorn and food-flavoring factories. Rose saw a man earlier this year who had similar signs and symptoms — and who’d eaten a lot of microwave popcorn every day. Last month she sent a letter about the case to the FDA, alerting them to a possible connection. That letter was published yesterday on a blog called the Pump Handle and reported by the Associated Press. Today, the food giant ConAgra said it would phase out the use of diacetyl in its Orville Redenbacher and Act II popcorn. The company said the move was to protect workers, and that the chemical doesn’t pose a risk for consumers. The Health Blog spoke this afternoon with Rose, who works at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver and has been a consultant through her hospital to the food-flavoring industry. Here are the highlights. Tell us about the patient described in your letter to the FDA He’s in furniture sales — a place you go to buy a couch. At the end of the clinical evaluation I had done this careful detailed history and a physical evaluation, and I took a look at his breathing test, his CT scan and his biopsy report. And it appeared to me to be very similar to the disease in the microwave-popcorn workers and in the flavoring workers. So on a real whim I turned to the patient and said, “This is a very strange question, and I apologize, but are you around a lot of popcorn?” To my complete surprise, he said, “How would you know that about me?” He said, “I am popcorn. It is my exclusive snack-food choice. I have been eating two to three bags a day for 10 years.” I was floored. I asked for an independent review of my work by my colleagues, and they concurred. We felt that it would be appropriate to contact the public health agencies . [In July] I contacted FDA, CDC, EPA and OSHA. I received a letter from EPA in which they indicated that they would be placing my letter under something called an FYI submission to notify the public. From OSHA I received a letter thanking me and saying this case report does not appear to be related to a workplace exposure. I haven’t heard anything from CDC. The FDA asked me to submit the letter to their docket. I think I expected the agencies to contact me to find out more. I think I expected them to pick up the phone and say, “We really need to understand this.” Can you describe this disease? The very small airways called the bronchioles are inflamed and become blocked. Once a person gets it, if they continue to be exposed, then their lung function deteriorates. They have increased cough, shortness of breath and chest tightness. If they’re removed from exposure [to diacetyl], the lung function usually stabilizes. It does not continue to deteriorate. But it does not respond to medical treatment and typically does not improve. How does exposure when you make butter-flavored microwave popcorn at home compare to what factory workers are exposed to? We did some testing in this man’s home. The peaks of exposures to diacetyl were similar to the levels that were described in the microwave popcorn production plants. But it goes away very fast. We don’t think for a minute that even for this patient his exposure is comparable to what the workers are exposed to. So what can you say about the risk of making butter-flavored microwave popcorn at home? You have to be very careful about inferring a causal connection on the basis of a single case report. It may not be correct. We don’t know what the risk is to the occasional consumer of microwave popcorn. More work needs to be done to try to understand the exposures. I have not banned the use of butter-flavored microwave popcorn from my home, but we certainly don’t use it every day. That’s just our habit — we were never big consumers of butter-flavored microwave popcorn. Update: Rose’s patient talks with the press about his experience. See this Health Blog post for more. blogs.wsj.com

To: richardred who wrote (998)	9/18/2010 11:22:44 PM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3363

$30 Million Awarded to "Popcorn Lung" Sufferer Factory worker exposed to controversial chemical By MATT BARTOSIK Updated 7:00 AM CDT, Tue, Sep 7, 2010 Many people love the smell of fresh, buttery popcorn. But inhaling that aroma day in and day out for several years may have caused significant lung damage for one Illinois plant worker. Last month, Gerardo Solis, 45, was awarded $30.4 million when a jury found BASF, a chemical company, responsible for Solis' "popcorn lung." The disease, known medically as bronchiolitis obliterans, is an irreversible life-threatening obstructive lung disease and has damaged 75 percent of the South Elgin man's lungs, according to the lawsuit. Solis has difficulty breathing and is awaiting a lung transplant, said his lawyer, Ken McClain, according to the Sun-Times. McClain argued that Solis got the disease as a result of working over 20 years in popcorn and popcorn-flavoring plants in Chicago. Solis was exposed to diacetyl, a chemical added to foods to give them a buttery flavor, said the lawsuit. Studies by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have suggested that the chemical is hazardous when heated and inhaled over a long period of time. Several workers in popcorn factories have been diagnosed with the disease and have filed lawsuits against the manufacturers. But Solis' $30.4-million award may be the largest in the country to a sole individual, said McClain. "His pain and suffering, the loss of life expectancy, these are quality-of-life issues that you can't always put a dollar amount on," McClain told the Chicago Tribune. BASF plans to appeal, said a spokesperson. Matt Bartosik is a Chicago native and a social media sovereign. Source: nbcchicago.com