“Popcorn lung” is a term one doesn’t readily forget. It is the euphemism often used for the medical condition bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare, irreversible obstructive lung disease that can necessitate a lung transplant. For the snack industry, manufacturers producing microwave popcorn and the companies supplying diacetyl to those manufacturers, it has become a serious concern during the past decade.
Initially, it was workers at microwave popcorn manufacturers who began alleging that they had developed bronchiolitis obliterans as a result of their exposure to diacetyl in the workplace. Workers in other plants later followed suit, and even consumers eventually began filing claims alleging exposure to diacetyl through consumption of microwave popcorn.