Identification of diacetyl substitutes at a microwave popcorn production plant

Details

• Personal Author:
  Boylstein, Randy J.
• Description:
  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.(4,5) Accordingly, flavor manufacturers have started to substitute other chemicals for diacetyl in butter flavorings, including chemically similar diketones. One substitute, 2,3-pentanedione, in initial toxicity testing was comparable to diacetyl in causing epithelial injury.(6,7) Most other substitutes have not been tested in animals for airway damage. Food manufacturers may be unaware of the diacetyl substitutes being used in artificial butter flavorings purchased from flavoring producers, as in a recent investigation of a dry bakery mix plant.(8) A microwave popcorn production plant asked NIOSH to evaluate chemical constituents in their eight butter flavorings. Their flavoring supplier informed them that substitutes for diacetyl were being used in the formulations, but they were not told what these chemical substitutes were. NIOSH collected the liquid bulk butter flavoring samples at the plant and conducted a quantitative gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis and a semi-quantitative headspace analysis using a thermal desorption tube technique on the samples. Companies need to be aware that the substitute diketones used in the butter flavors are unlikely to be safer than diacetyl. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Butanones Chemistry Coloring Agents Food-Processing Industry Food Additives Food Handling Food Industry Hazardous Substances Lung Diseases Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety

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• Keywords:
  Airway-resistance Breathing Chemical-analysis Chemical-synthesis Food Food-additives Food-colors Food-processing Food-processing-workers Foodstuff Ketones Lung-disorders Pulmonary-system-disorders Respiratory-system-disorders Toxic-materials

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• ISSN:
  1545-9624
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DRDS - Division of Respiratory Disease Studies
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  9
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040233
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Hyg 2012 Feb; 9(2):D33-D34
• Contact Point Address:
  Randy Boylstein, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Field Studies Branch, 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505
• Email:
  zig1@cdc.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  2,3-Hexanedione (CAS RN 3848-24-6) ; 2,3-Pentanedione (CAS RN 600-14-6) ; Acetoin (CAS RN 513-86-0) ; Butanedione (CAS RN 431-03-8)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2012
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:68a78c89b28852e52672b42bd62b588483f742f9f9740ba122f5f556c2acd1e95176a5867718ebf2cba77fa3e445336e4b8d5860b4d924e9ca22c64badeebee1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193175/cdc_193175_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 65.21 KB ]