Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, brain Stuff Florin vogel bomb here. There's been a lot of hype over the years about the potential dangers of microwave popcorn, But is this caution founded or just overblown fear mongering. The short answer is that many of the chemicals that caused concern in earlier decades have been removed from microwave popcorn, but some critics are still not satisfied. Okay, a popcorn is by itself a high fiber, whole grain, low calorie snack.
It can provide a lot of satisfying crunch bang for its caloric buck right up until you douse it in butter. Anyway, the original concern about it was not over an ingredient in the popcorn itself, but rather in its packaging. That's because microwave popcorn bags were coated with types of compounds known as perfluorinated chemicals, or PFC to prevent grease from leaking out. These compounds were being used as a grease resisting agent in everything from sandwich bags to pizza boxes
to teflon pans. A one particular type of PFC, known as C eight compounds or perfluorooctanoic acids has been linked to certain cancers, though the American Cancer Society says that the evidence is inconclusive and more research is being done about this. Nevertheless, in response to concerns about PFCs, the US Food and Drug Administration worked with popcorn manufacturers back
in twenty eleven to remove pfoas from their packaging. Three other PFCs were banned in the next five years, so today's microwave popcorn doesn't involve these chemicals, but critics say that the replacement agents could be just as problematic as the old ones, just with less known about them. And
that's not the only potential concern. Okay, the chemical that for decades has lent butter flavored deliciousness to microwave and movie popcorn is safe to eat, but it's been connected in rare cases with major lung damage from breathing it in a known as dicetyl. It's long been a documented problem with workers in popcorn manufacturing facilities, so much so that lung damage from it is known as popcorn lung. But dicetyl can also be treacherous for people who just
eat the snack. A lot. A study published in twenty thirteen in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health compared three cases where consumers had similar exposure levels to
manufacturing workers. A different study found that more than eighty percent of chemical emissions happened when the bag is first opened post popping, and indeed, some of the bad cases in consumers occurred when the consumer in question ate a lot of microwave popcorn and specifically enjoyed inhaling those fresh fumes. Diacetyl has also been removed from most products, though again some critics claim that the replacement chemicals may also be harmful.
If this concerns you, I'll reiterate that most of the exposure to diacetyl came from inhaling the fumes of rather than eating the actual popcorn. Therefore, experts recommend waiting for the bag to cool a little bit before you open it to minimize potentially harmful chemical exposure. Also read the microwave popcorn labels before buying. Although more research needs to be done, products that contain just popcorn, oil and salt are going to be baseline safer than products with various
flavorings and colorings added. Better yet, you can make your own popcorn fresh at home on the stovetop, using an air popping machine, or even using an untreated paper bag in the microwave. When you sprinkle on your own melted butter, salts, ices, or cheese, you'll at least know what you're getting into. Today's episode is based on the article is microwave popcorn really Dangerous? On how stuffworks dot com? Written by a
Leah Hoyt. Brain Stuff is production of iHeartRadio in partnership with how stuffworks dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Before more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.