BUTTER FLAVOURING LINKED TO CONDITION

A chemical used to give butter flavor to popcorn can damage the lungs and airways of mice, US government experts reported, TOXICOLOGICAL SCIENCES. Tests on mice show that diacetyl, a component of artificial butter flavoring, can cause a condition known as lymphocytic bronchiolitis. The NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES, part of the NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH. tHE CONDITION CAN LEAD TO OBLITERATIVE BRONCHIOLITIS-OR "POPCORN LUNG"- a rare and debilitating disease seen in workers at microwave popcorn packaging plants and at least one consumer.