Occupational Health and Safety from the Americas

August 27, 2012

Canadian politician says call for potato boycott wasn't intended to hurt producers

A Liberal MLA in Canada's Alberta province who called for a boycott of Alberta potatoes over concerns that child labour remains unregulated in the province says he has no desire to damage the livelihoods of growers.

August 21, 2012

Alberta politician calls on Frito-Lay to boycott Alberta potatoes on child labour concerns

An Alberta politician, the Liberal MLA David Swann, called on snack-food giant Frito Lay, a subsidiary of PepsiCo., to boycott Alberta potatoes because child labour remains unregulated on provincial farms. The New Democrats later joined the Alberta Fe...

May 17, 2012

Pipe failure likely cause ammonia leak Lamb Weston potato processing plant

A pipe failure in the refrigeration system caused the ammonia leak that resulted in a potato-processing plant evacuation Tuesday and 11 people being treated by medics, the Boardman fire chief said. The incident occurred at around 9.30 pm tuesday in th...

February 24, 2012

Ministerio de Agricultura peruano apoya aplicación de sanciones por comercializar productos en sacos con más de 50 kilos

El Ministerio de Agricultura (Minag) afirmó hoy que apoya la aplicación de sanciones a productores, comerciantes y transportistas que acopien productos en sacos con un peso superior a los 50 kilos, conforme a lo dispuesto por la Ley Nº 29088 y su regla...

January 27, 2012

Oregon Potato Company pays EPA penalty for failing to report ammonia release

Oregon Potato Company failed to report an anhydrous ammonia release at their facility in Warden, Washington and will pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a $66,235 penalty.

May 31, 2011

Plant worker handling diacetyl awarded $814,500 for 'popcorn lung'

A plant worker won an $814,500 judgment in Baltimore County Circuit Court after claiming he contracted a rare lung disease known as "popcorn lung"from breathing diacetyl, a chemical used to make food taste buttery.

April 07, 2011

Washington Potato Company fined $99.000 after worker hurt

This week, the Washington Department of Labor and Industries investigation cited Washington Potato Company for 12 serious safety violations and three repeat serious violations with a $99,000 penalty.

January 25, 2011

Microwave Popcorn Lung Prevention Rules Expanded by OSHA

Federal safety regulators say that some substitutes for the chemical diacetyl, believed to cause a condition known as microwave popcorn lung disease in food manufacturing workers, may also be linked to the potentially deadly ailment.

December 13, 2010

Study supports concerns over popcorn butter flavor (diacetyl)

Diacetyl - a chemical used in butter flavoring – may damages the lungs by reacting and forming complexes with amino acids in cell membranes, according to a new US study.

October 31, 2010

Factory Worker Awarded $30.4 Million for Popcorn Lung

A jury in Cook County jury has awarded 45-year old Gerardo Solis $30.4 million as compensation for having developed a health condition known as popcorn lung'.

January 06, 2010

Popcorn: Diacetyl substitutes might be harmful for workers as well

Two years ago, Orville Redenbacher soared from the graveyard and announced in weeks of TV ads that his popcorn was now free of diacetyl. That's the chemical in artificial butter flavoring that has been blamed for sickening hundreds of workers, killing ...

April 11, 2009

Be careful working with industrial fryers

A 28-year-old man who works at the Cavendish Farms french fry plant in Jamestown was airlifted to the Minneapolis St. Paul burn unit on Thursday evening following a workplace accident, WDAY reported Friday.

August 03, 2008

Consumer Sues Over Popcorn Lung Disease From Butter Flavor Diacetyl Chemical

The only known consumer to have developed the health condition known as "popcorn lung"is suing the stores that sold him his microwave popcorn, saying that they failed to warn him that he could become ill from using the product as intended.Way...

January 24, 2008

Bell offers butter flavor alternative to diacetyl

Bell Flavors and Fragrances has responded to concerns over the use of diacetyl in popcorn by developing butter flavors that are free from the additive. The company claims its replacers provide the same fatty, creamy mouth feel that diacetyl does, and ...

January 18, 2008

Cooks' union calls for diacetyl ban

A union for U.S. hotel, restaurant and kitchen workers has called on cooking oil manufacturers to stop using a toxic butter-flavoring additive called diacetyl."It could pose a serious health risk to commercial cooks and UNITE HERE is calling for f...

January 16, 2008

Popcorn-lover sues over lung disease caused by diacetyl

Wayne Watson, from Centennial, Colorado, is thought to be the only consumer of popcorn to have developed the rare lung condition bronchiolitis obliterans (popcorn lung). Watson's lungs have been damaged by the flavour chemical diacetyl in the artif...

December 18, 2007

Orville Redenbacher's and Act II microwave popcorn brands now free of diacetyl

ConAgra Foods today announced that it has reformulated its Orville Redenbacher’s and ACT II microwave popcorn brands with a new butter flavoring that has no added diacetyl. These newly reformulated products are arriving on store shelves now. “Microwav...

October 31, 2007

Popcorn Workers Lung Victims Granted Big Victory class action lawsuit

Popcorn Workers Lung victims involved in a class action lawsuit got some good news from a New York appeals court yesterday. The court ruled that if the former Missouri popcorn plant workers successfully prove their claims that diacetyl exposure cause...

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