Junk Food Poisoning: Not In The Usual Way

Well just after I wrote a few stories about most of the garbage in the world coming from mainland China, along comes a little eye opener about a well known “additive” to packaged popcorn, which poses a severe health risk when breathed in.

We all know that cigarette smoke, pollution, asbestos and fumes from cleaning supplies and other chemicals are dangerous to inhale and can cause lung disease. But who would have thought those buttery fumes wafting from piping hot popcorn could be potentially hazardous?

The Associated Press talked about the health effects of the flavour chemical diacetyl in an article titled “Snack Food Fallout.” It is used to flavour popcorn, candy, cheeses, baked goods and other foods, and is also found in staples such as milk and butter.

Diacetyl attacks, inflames and virtually obliterates the bronchioles, the lung’s tiniest airways. As the body tries to heal, scar tissue builds up and restricts the airways. The damage is irreversible, though it sometimes can be moderately controlled with medications. Rats exposed to diacetyl at levels similar to those in factories suffered major lung injuries, according to 2001 reports by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Half died within six hours. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Oct. 21, 2006)

Cases of the same lung condition (as popcorn plant workers who breathe in the fumes on a consistent basis) are showing up in consumers who eat microwave popcorn on a regular basis. And it’s no wonder – turns out that after you pop a bag of microwave popcorn, the levels of diacetyl in your house are eerily similar to those found in the popcorn plants.

Industry awareness of diacetyl as a human health threat in large amounts dates back to at least 1985. That year, the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials reported that “high concentrations may cause irritation of respiratory tract” and is “capable of producing systemic toxicity.”

Mounting evidence suggests that flavor manufacturers should definitely have known about diacetyl’s association with lung disease since the early 1990’s, when it started killing workers. (www.thepumphandle.wordpress.com, May 2007)

Though the popcorn industry has kept the dangers of diacetyl as quiet as possible, hundreds of workers have had their lungs damaged or destroyed, and many have filed suit against these companies. According to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, there have been “scores of jury decisions and settlements awarding over $100 million to workers.

In 2004, a jury awarded $20 million to Eric Peoples, a Missouri popcorn factory employee who developed the disease after years of being exposed to diacetyl manufactured by International Flavors and Fragrances, Inc.

The condition has again received national attention with the first ever consumer being diagnosed with diacetyl-induced-bronchiolitis-obliteranse. Wayne Watson reportedly ate approximately two full bags of microwave popcorn everyday for “at least a decade.” (www.gordonrees.com, October, 2007)

In 2002 and 2003, OSHA’s (the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration) own scientists studying diacetyl unsuccessfully urged their leaders to take broader action to protect workers. (www.agobservatory.com, July 27, 2006)

The only agency that addressed the diacetyl issue was EPA, which conducts indoor air quality research. According to the Post-Intelligencer article, EPA began studying whether consumers were at risk in 2003, and circulated it to the popcorn industry for its review, but not to the public.

In July 2006, the UFCW and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters petitioned OSHA for a standard to regulate diacetyl. The petition was accompanied by a supportive letter from 42 of the nation’s leading occupational safety and health scientists and experts. (www.ufcw.org)

Manufacturers of microwave popcorn (such as ConAgra Foods, Inc, General Mills, Inc, the American Popcorn Company and Weaver Popcorn) have since begun to voluntarily remove diacetyl from their products, though that seems a guarded reaction since they’ve had the results of the EPA study in late 2005, according a September 5, 2006 article in the Washington Post.

OSHA launched a “Special Emphasis Program” in August 2007, involving inspections of all popcorn manufacturing facilities in the United States. However, the program does not cover flavor manufacturing facilities where a large number of “popcorn lung” cases have been identified.

So on September 26, 2007, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would require OSHA to take a more aggressive regulatory approach to diacetyl exposure in any workplace that uses the chemical. The measure requires that OSHA establish safe diacetyl exposure limits; air-monitoring requirements; medical surveillance standards; requirements for workers to wear protective gear when exposed to diacetyl; and regulations for safety labeling of the chemical. Following the passage of House bill, members of Senate started working on companion legislation. (www.newsinferno.com, October 25, 2007)

It’s kind of hard to keep ranting about stopping the importation of “bad food,” when our own local supplies are here to poison us just as good. This is another good reason to stop eating junk food.

For more information and studies about Popcorn Workers Lung Disease, go to www.DefendingScience.org

 

Air Fresheners Create Toxic Chemical Soup

Did you know that by using an air freshener in your living room, you are probably breathing in more toxic substances than you would in the middle of a traffic jam in Los Angeles?

Few people understand how bad air fresheners are for their health, and fewer seem to care. North Americans love their scent neutralizers: those air fresheners, plug-in room deodorizers, odour sanitizers, room sprays, and aromatherapy candles. Advertisements are geared to make us feel that we don’t have a clean home unless some type of freshener is hanging on various outlets.

But in spite of what manufacturers would have us believe, air fresheners do not “purify” the surrounding air, nor do they add natural fragrances. In fact, they coat the nasal passages with an oil film (such as methoxychlor – a pesticide that accumulates in fat cells) or by releasing a nerve deadening agent (www.consumerlawpage.com), to drown out whatever smells may be deemed offensive.

Various harmful substances in air fresheners include allergens, potential carcinogens such as acetaldehyde or styrene, dangerous substances such as toluene and chlorbenzene, glycol ethers, phthalates and artificial musk.

Paradichchlorobenzene (a white, solid crystal) has been shown to cause cancer in laboratory animals, and phenol (carbolic acid) is flammable, corrosive and very toxic. (Alive: Something in the Air, February 2004)

Even more dangerous, formaldehyde, (admitted by the EPA to be a cause of cancer), and benzene (a carcinogen for which the WHO recommends zero exposure), may hang around the air after the use of several types of incense or electric scenter. Not to mention all the other chemicals not mentioned here and about which we know nothing. (WECF, 2005)

Most of these chemicals have never been the subject of an in-depth toxicological study, and the effects on health and the environment have not been subjected to sufficient evaluation before the products were launched onto the market. When used in a confined area, like a homes, at work, or cars, they create an intense amount of toxins in a small area.

The following list of ingredients that may be found in air fresheners is taken from “Clinical Toxicology of Commercial Products“, by Gosselin, Smith and Hodge, 1984.

Spray Type Deodorizers:

• ethyl or isopropyl alcohol
• glycol ethers
• surfactant (quaternary ammonium salts)
• perfume
• water
• propellants
• metazene (4.0%)
• petroleum distillates (6.0%)
• aluminum chlorhydrol
• bromsalicylanilide 2,3,4,5-BIS(2-butylene) tetrahydrofural
• cellosolve acetate
• dichlorodifluoromethanol
• ethanol
• fatty esters
• lauryl methacrylate
• methoxychlor
• methylene chloride
• o-phenylphenol
• p-dichlorobenzene
• pine oil (toxicity like turpentine)
• piperonyl butoxide
• pyrethrin
• synthetic surfactants
• trichloromonofluoromethane
• wax
• zinc phenolsulfonate

Wick Type Deodorizers:

• formaldehyde (37%)
• water-soluble perfume
• coloring
• water
• emulsifiers
• essential oils
• aromatic chemicals (xylene)
• chlorophyll

Several of these components are well-known carcinogens, and others have a wide range of immediate and long-term toxic effects on vital organs. The cumulative effect their mix has on human health is largely unknown. But it is safe to say that these products represent a real risk to health not only of allergy sufferers, asthmatics, pregnant or nursing women and children, but also to anyone using them continuously.

According to a September 2007 report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), these noxious chemicals may even affect hormones and reproductive development.

“As part of its “Clearing the Air” study, NRDC researchers tested 14 brands of common household air fresheners and found that 12 contained chemicals known as phthalates, which are “hormone-disrupting” chemicals. Phthalates can affect normal hormonal processes-those that control brain, nervous and immune system development, reproduction, mental processing and metabolism-by blocking them altogether, throwing off the timing or “mimicking” natural hormones and interacting with cells themselves, with very unhealthy consequences. The State of California notes that five types of phthalates-including one commonly used in air freshener products-are “known to cause birth defects or reproductive harm.” (Kansas City Infozine, October 11, 2007)

Scented and aromatherapy candles are no better at clearing the air, and bear little or no relation to true aromatherapy. Such candles, are of questionable benefit regardless of the flowery implications of their names, and have negative effects on air quality and health. Aromatherapy candles:

• are usually made of chemical (paraffin) waxes & toxic synthetic fragrance oils.
• usually contain metal wicks made of lead or zinc. 100% is inhaled in the black soot which ends up in the bloodstream and can be particularly damaging to children.
• create toxic byproducts. Burning scented oils, and even candles with pure essential oils, chemically converts the combustion into unhealthy byproducts.

Source: www.deliciousorganics.com

Electric air fresheners also problematic

One of the most innovative, and popular formats of purifiers is the electric air freshener. These use heat generated by electricity to spread fragrance through the air. It consists of a tiny plastic tray containing a gel-like fragrance concentrate. The consumer simply peels a multilayer barrier film from the top of the tray, leaving a permanent membrane layer that allows the fragrance to diffuse into the air. The tray is inserted into a warmer unit, which then is plugged into an electrical outlet. As the warmer unit heats up, fragrance permeates at a controlled rate through the film membrane, dispersing into the air. (gale-edit.com)

Researchers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) say that potentially harmful smog could accumulate inside homes through the reactions caused by electric air-fresheners and ozone. Experts believed the reactions produced formaldehyde, (at a concentration level of approximately 50 micrograms in each cubic meter of air), which is classified as a probable carcinogen that is believed to cause respiratory problems. This measurement was nearly equivalent to the EPA’s outdoor particle limit, which is considered to be an unhealthy level of particle exposure. (Nature May 10, 2004)

Air fresheners may damage your lungs

Another harmful ingredient is called 1, 4-dichlorobenzene, or 1,4-DCB, which could harm your lungs, according to a study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The study — published in Environmental Health Perspectives — analyzed the effect of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as 1,4 DCB on the lung function of 953 adult men and women. Of the 11 chemicals studied, only 1,4 DCB was linked to a reduction in pulmonary function; a link found to be significant even when smoking was factored in. This could be serious for those with asthma or other lung problems. Reduced lung function is also a risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. (WebMD July 27, 2006)

This chemical is usually found in space deodorizing products, such as room fresheners, urinal cakes and toilet bowl fresheners, and is used as an insecticide for moth control. It can also be found in things like tobacco smoke, paints, cleaning products and vehicle exhausts, and is detectable in 96 percent of population blood samples. (www.newstarget.com)

The American Lung Association (ALA) website at lungusa.org points out that commercially made room deodorizers are a contributing factor to the 56 percent increase in asthma cases since 1979. And the Canadian Lung Association (CLA) also lists air fresheners as a hazardous product.

What can we do?

We need to realize that “clean” does not have a “scent.” We have been brainwashed to believe that “clean” means some kind of toxic fragrance – whether it’s in our air, clothes, or body. But “clean” actually has a very “neutral” smell: non-offensive and non-toxic.

If you’re trying to eliminate unpleasant scents, try (pure) therapeutic essential oils instead. Most essential oils have antibacterial qualities and have varying physical and emotional effects depending on the oil, such as stimulation, relaxation, pain relief and healing.

You can purchase an atomizing diffuser, an electrical air pump, and a nebulizer. Use a blend of essential oils such as orange, marjoram, lavender, basil and chamomile to help you relax. Most importantly, these don’t produce harmful chemicals like traditional air fresheners that could result in respiratory problems.

The best way to avoid the problem is to simply open a window instead of reaching for one of these harmful products. You can also try:

• burning 100% pure beeswax candles with 100% cotton wicks
• using a drop or two of pure essential oils and distilled water, make a spritzer and mist the air.
• using an “ash tray”– Zeolite, a mineral formed from volcanic ash, works the same way as baking soda.
• adding drops of orange, lemon or lavender essential oils to organic cotton balls and put them around the house
• simmering spices like cinnamon and cloves, organic lemons, fresh ginger or herbs such as rosemary or basil in a little water on the stovetop
• adding a drop or two of pure essential oils to some hot water
• use organic herbal sachets and potpourris
• using freshly cut fragrant organic flowers or potted plants as air freshening factories. They clear carbon dioxide from the air and can even remove toxins.