Industry should support broader research effort to determine whether diacetyl threatens workers

Nation's Restaurant News,  April 7, 2008  by Paul Frumkin

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Usually when restaurateurs address the hot-button issue of food safety, they worry most about exposing customers to weak links in the nation's food chain. Now, however, that focus has shifted to kitchen workers.

As recently reported in Nation's Restaurant News, researchers, industry observers and operators have begun to question whether cooks who are exposed regularly to an artificial butter flavoring used in some cooking oils and sprays might be putting themselves in harm's way.

Known as diacetyl, the flavoring ingredient in question also has come to the attention of federal and state authorities, chiefly due to findings that have linked it to a rare and sometimes deadly strain of lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans. Those authorities mostly are concerned with the threat of airborne exposure through heated vapors during the cooking process.

Previously the disease, more commonly referred to as "popcorn lung," had been associated with a few manufacturing facilities that made microwave popcorn--and in which diacetyl was used in a purer form than would be found in restaurant cooking oils. The individuals who had been diagnosed with the lung disease also appear to have been subjected to exposure to diacetyl over long periods of time.

Concern about the chemical's use in manufacturing, however, prompted the U.S. House of Representatives to pass last September The Popcorn Workers Lung Disease Prevention Act, or H.R. 2693, which would direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, to issue standards regulating worker exposure to diacetyl. A companion bill also was introduced in the Senate.

Then late last year the Seattle Post-Intelligencer commissioned a research study indicating that professional cooks working on griddles or saute stations and who use large quantities of butter substitutes containing diacetyl also might be facing similar, albeit scaled down, risks as those workers who work in popcorn plants.

Dr. Richard Kanwal, a medical officer with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, a research arm of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was quoted by the paper as saying, "Without a comprehensive evaluation it's impossible to assess the actual risk, but there is no doubt that this group of workers should be studied."

Earlier this month, NIOSH researchers conducted tests at three Manhattan foodservice sites to measure the level of diacetyl and ascertain whether it indeed poses a threat to employees. The sites are operated by the Philadelphia-based contract feeder Aramark. Similar tests were scheduled to be conducted at two other Aramark locations in Seattle by Washington state's Safety & Health Assessment & Research for Prevention agency.

Immediately following the first wave of tests in New York, a spokeswoman for Aramark said NIOSH told the company that it found nothing of concern in preliminary tests. However, the institute said it would be carrying out a more thorough analysis of the samples researchers had gathered.

Dr. Rachel Bailey, epidemic intelligence service officer and medical officer for NIOSH, said the federal agency would like to return to the New York Aramark locations and conduct more in-depth tests. While she said the agency had "no firm plans" to broaden the tests at the moment, she added, 'We're looking into it."

That sounds like a good next step. Clearly, what is needed here is further research, an opinion shared by both the National Restaurant Association and the American Culinary Federation. In the meantime, it also is wise to avoid a rush to judgment. It's important to remember that different sets of factors come into play in manufacturing facilities than do in restaurant kitchens. As stated, manufacturing plants use diacetyl in a more concentrated form, and workers there may be exposed to it over a more prolonged period of time. Nor is it known whether ventilation systems play a mitigating role in a professional kitchen environment.

Nevertheless, there can be no question but that further testing is required to determine whether diacetyl poses a risk to restaurant workers. Food safety remains a critical issue for this industry, whether it means protecting the general population or its own employees. Authorities should not drag their heels on this issue. The restaurant community needs answers sooner than later.

Paul Frumkin

DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR

pfrumkin@nrn.com

pfrumkin@nrn.com

COPYRIGHT 2008 Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning