The FDA created a list of food additives called the GRAS list.  GRAS stands for "Generally Regarded As Safe."  Notice the location of the word "generally," it comes before "Regarded as Safe."  Why can't the FDA create a list called "Absolutely Regarded as Safe?"  As I explain what's going on bear in mind that based on the number of food additives that the FDA has had to go back and remove after approval it suggests that the FDA has not done a very good job of creating a good protocol for studying and testing new food additives.  And think for a moment about how difficult that job would be when you cannot control nor test for the interactions of 20-30 additives and chemicals that can be mixed in a food.

Recently Diacetyl, another food additive which has been used in foods for years, has been proven to cause a serious and often fatal lung disease called "The Popcorn Lung Disease."  Diacetyl, an artificial butter flavoring used in popcorn, pastries, frozen foods and candies, has been repeatedly linked to lung disease in employees of popcorn plants.  However, there are currently no enforceable Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) standards requiring exposures to be controlled.  While unions are pushing for the regulatory loophole to be closed, employees that work in popcorn plants continue to be diagnosed with the rare lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans.  Now get this; the flavor manufacturers that make the Diacetyl are currently forking out millions of dollars in damages to quickly settle the charges brought against them.  That in and of itself suggests that these companies know the chemical causes the disease and openly and responsibly are compensating the employees.

So just what is Diacetyl and what is bronchiolitis obliterans and how do you get it?  Diacetyl is an artificial butter flavoring agent that is commonly used in microwaveable popcorn.  Employees at factories inhale large quantities (above 100 part per million) and end up developing the lung disease.  Bronchiolitis obliterans is a disease of the lungs where the bronchioles are plugged with granulation tissue.  It is also known as "popcorn lung" or "popcorn workers' lung" due to onset of the disease from exposure to diacetyl

If you get this disease you will eventually need a lung transplant or die!  But do you want to know what's really insane?  These cases began showing up over two years ago and the chemical is still to this day being used in popcorn and other butter flavored foods!  The manufacturers of the food additive have been settling the cases quietly for amounts as high as 20 million dollars which not only admits guilt it also admits awareness that the problem is real and that the food additive is dangerous. What really strikes me as odd is that the FDA has not taken any steps toward removing the chemical from the "Generally Regarded as Safe List" nor has it removed the food additive from the marketplace.

The reason the FDA hasn't removed it is because they claim the only risk is to the people that work within the food manufacturing plants and not the general public.  And in order for the chemical to be a risk it has been determined that a person would have to inhale more than 100 PPM.  I can't think of any more insane policy than that! 

First, consider that the FDA knows that a chemical used within food has caused harm, is deadly and still allows it to be approved under the GRAS list. And second,. that it was approved in the first place when this possibility exists.  Doesn't it call into question the FDA's ability to protect the public from harmful food additives?  My thinking may seem simple minded to the FDA but I have to think that we should adopt a zero tolerance for harm from food additives.  If there is even a remote risk that a chemical can cause harm it shouldn't be allowed into our food supply, period.

How many times have you popped a bag of microwavable popcorn and inhaled the steam and therefore the chemicals?  If they missed the fact that this chemical is so dangerous for factory workers isn't it possible that they might have missed the fact that Diacetyl in any concentration could also be harmful over time in other people?  And what if it becomes more concentrated or toxic after being heated at a high temperature?  What if there is a weight dose situation that makes it more toxic to younger children that weigh less than adults?  The questions are numerous, but the answers simply aren't available.  And if there is even a remote possibility of harm don't you think it's the FDA's job to err on the side of being cautious?  After all, it is their job to study these food additives and protect the public.

The studies and information were available for the FDA to see and take action. But for whatever reason they didn't do anything to protect the workers or everyday consumer. Kreiss et al. investigated a clustering of cases of bronchiolitis obliterans in a microwave-popcorn packaging plant in 2002.  In 2000, a physician specializing in occupational medicine described fixed obstruction lung disease in eight former employees of the plant, all employed between 1992-2000.  Symptoms in all 8 were compatible with description of bronchiolitis obliterans.  Four of the eight worked in the mixing room and the other 4 worked in the packaging area.  Of the 425 employees during this time period (1992-2000), only 13 had worked in the mixing room.  Air sampling at the plant detected many volatile organic compounds, but diacetyl, a ketone with butter-flavor characteristics was singled out as the likely etiological agent.  Toxicity studies using rats support this association (Hubbs et al. 2002).

Kreiss et al. (2002) in a cross-sectional study evaluated 117 current workers at the plant.  This investigation concentrated on the frequency of sub clinical findings in the plant.  They noted that the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and of findings of obstruction on lung function was approximately 3 times worse than the prevalence in the general population. These investigators observed a strong exposure - response relation between the build up of diacetyl exposure and the frequency and extent of airway obstruction.

Do you know how many chemicals have been removed off of the GRAS list in the last 15 years? I assure you a lot have been taken off the list. I'm not just concerned with the diacetyl within foods I'm concerned with any chemical that could potentially cause harm. Chemicals like artificial colors and food additives. The FDA doesn't require companies to disclose the ingredients of their color or flavor additives so long as all the chemicals in them are on the GRAS ("generally recognized as safe") list. This enables companies to maintain the secrecy of their formulas. It also hides the fact that flavor compounds often contain more ingredients than the foods to which they give taste. The phrase "artificial strawberry flavor" sounds like there's only one ingredient. But what would you think if I told you there are 48 different chemicals including diacetyl that comprise the artificial strawberry flavoring? Here's eththe list of ingredients that are found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, cognac essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone,yl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butanone (10 percent solution in alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol, 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone, methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, g-undecalactone, vanillin, and solvent. Wow! That's a lot of chemicals. How about just using strawberries? That would seem like a no brainer to me, but the fresh fruit is more expensive that the artificial flavor and maybe that's one of the reasons why food companies are so willing to use them.

Do you think anyone can tell us the health effects of that many chemicals on the human body? Here's my point to this article. I think the government should develop a zero tolerance to any chemical used in the production of food that has any harmful effects at any dosage. Secondly it really calls attention to the fact that the government can't possible protect the public from the harm that can occur when so many chemicals are added into our food supply. Finally I think it reinforces once again the need of people to start eating foods the way God made them and not the way man made them! If the FDA was wrong about chemicals such as this, it makes you wonder... how many other chemicals were they wrong about?