Popcorn: Diacetyl substitutes might be harmful for workers as well

Two years ago, Orville Redenbacher soared from the graveyard and announced in weeks of TV ads that his popcorn was now free of diacetyl. That's the chemical in artificial butter flavoring that has been blamed for sickening hundreds of workers, killing a handful and destroying the lungs of at least three microwave popcorn addicts.

But now, government health investigators are reporting that the "new, safer, butter substitutes"used in popcorn and others foods are, in some cases, at least as toxic as what they replaced.

Even the top lawyer for the flavoring industry said his organization has told anyone who would listen that diacetyl substitutes are actually just another form of diacetyl.

"We've been very clear to flavor manufacturers, food companies and regulators that these so-called substitutes are diacetyl,"said John Hallagan, general counsel for the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association.