Tag: diacetyl
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$7.5 Million Jury Verdict in Consumer Diacetyl Exposure Suit Upheld
A federal court in Colorado has dismissed the defendants’ post-trial motions for judgment as a matter of law or for a new trial thus upholding a $7.5 million jury award to plaintiffs who alleged personal injury from exposure to the diacetyl in microwave popcorn consumed at home. Watson v. Dillon Cos., Inc., No. 08-91 (D. Colo.,…
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OSHA Cites Flavoring Company over Diacetyl Exposure
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has reportedly cited Natural Flavors Inc. for 12 alleged workplace safety and health violations at its Newark, New Jersey, facility and proposed penalties in excess of $60,000. According to OSHA, an inspection confirmed that company employees were “overexposed to diacetyl,” a butter flavoring purportedly associated with bronchiolitis…
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Insurance Company Disputes Obligation to Provide Diacetyl Damages or Defense
A company that issued Citrus and Allied Essences Ltd. a commercial umbrella insurance policy in 2006 and 2007 has filed suit in a New York state court seeking a declaration that it is not obligated to defend the food-flavoring company in suits by those alleging respiratory injury from diacetyl exposure or to pay damages. Cont’l…
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Worker Exposed to Diacetyl on the Job Loses Before California Jury
According to a news source, the first “popcorn-lung” occupational exposure case tried in California has resulted in a defense verdict. Velasquez v. Flavor & Extract Mfrs. Ass’n, No. BC370319 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., verdict reached December 12, 2012). The plaintiff was a former flavoring factory employee who claimed that his exposure to the butter-flavoring chemical…
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Spurned Expert Asks SCOTUS for Non-Party Right to Appeal
David Egilman, whose expert testimony was deemed inadmissible in proceedings involving a consumer’s exposure to the butter-flavoring chemical diacetyl in microwave popcorn, has filed a petition for writ of certiorari (No. 12-697) in the U.S. Supreme Court. He asks, “Whether a nonparty to a district court proceeding has a right to appeal a decision that…
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Jury Awards Colorado Man $7.2 Million for “Popcorn Lung”
A federal jury has reportedly awarded $7.2 million to a man who claimed that he developed bronchiolitis obliterans, a debilitating lung disease also known as popcorn lung, from consuming two to three bags of microwave popcorn every day for six years. Watson v. Dillon Cos., Inc., No. 08-91 (D. Colo., decided September 19, 2012). Details…
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Second Butter Flavoring Implicated in Bronchiolitis Obliterans
A recent study has allegedly linked a second artificial butter flavoring— 2,3-pentanedione (PD)—to respiratory toxicity in animals, raising concerns about the diacetyl replacement’s potential effects on factory workers. Ann Hubbs, et al., “Respiratory and Olfactory Cytotoxicity of Inhaled 2,3-Pentanedione in Sprague-Dawley Rats,” The American Journal of Pathology, September 2012. After exposing rats to either PD,…
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Study Allegedly Links Diacetyl to Alzheimer’s Disease
A University of Minnesota study has reported that diacetyl (DA), a food additive used to mimic butter flavors, allegedly “intensifies the damaging effects of an abnormal brain protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease,” according to a recent American Chemical Society press release. Swati More, et al., “The Butter Flavorant, Diacetyl, Exacerbates β-Amyloid Cytotoxicity,” Chemical Research in…