After diacetyl (2,3-butanedione) was shown to cause bronchiolitis obliterans in workers who inhaled high levels of this volatile butter flavoring at microwave popcorn processing plants, some manufacturers switched to a substitute assumed to be safer. Recent rodent studies, however, suggest that the substitute, 2,3-pentanedione, may be as damaging to the respiratory tract as the diacetyl it replaced.
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