Identification of diacetyl substitutes at a microwave popcorn production plant.

摘要

Diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) is a volatile diketone commercially synthesized and used to make butter flavoring for food production. It also is a naturally occurring product of fermentation and is found in butter, wine, and coffee. Diacetyl was first recognized as a respiratory health hazard at a microwave popcorn production plant.(1~3) The inhalation of butter flavorings containing diacetyl can cause severe shortness of breath and cough in workers exposed during microwave popcorn manufacturing. These symptoms may result from a rare, disabling lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans, which has caused death or the need for lung transplant in some exposed microwave popcorn workers. Bronchiolitis obliterans has also been identified in flavoring and diacetyl manufacturing workers. Accordingly, flavor manufacturers have started to substitute other chemicals for diacetyl in butter flavorings, including chemically similar diketones.