Microwave Popcorn: Good or Bad?

It is said that the average American eats about 60 quarts of popcorn per year. And while some people might still use those hot air poppers and butter-flavored flakes; and others might search for those aluminum Jiffy-Pop things you cook over the stove top, for most of us that means our 60 quarts of popcorn was made in the microwave.

And since I probably eat more microwave popcorn than the average American, I was extremely disappointed to read recent headlines about cancer-causing chemicals in microwave popcorn. There is even something called "popcorn workers lung" said to be caused by these carcinogens.

Here's the good and bad of what I found out. And if you are in a hurry to know what a serious problem it is, I just finished a bag of microwave popcorn...and not one of those little snack bags either.

Well, popcorn can be a nice healthy snack. Popcorn by itself is a practically fat-free food. But you aren't going to find a bag of microwave popcorn with plain old kernels in it. A bag of regular microwave popcorn with butter flavor is going to have about 24 grams of fat and 500-600 mg of sodium. A bag is two servings, but really, we know you just eat the whole bag.

So popcorn might not even be that good for your diet. I know it's hard to watch a movie without the greasy, salty, crunchy snack, but you might want to at least reading the labels and looking for low-fat, lower-fat, and practically fat-free versions. Orville Redenbacher has some low fat microwave popcorn options that taste just as good as the fat-laden ones.

Or you can pop your own. Heat vegetable oil in a skillet, toss in some popcorn, put on a lid, and let it pop. Gently move the skillet as the kernels pop, to avoid any kernels sticking and burning. Add your own melted butter, salt, or other flavorings. That's how we made popcorn when I grew up before microwaves and microwave popcorn.

But fat and sodium aren't the only bad news about microwave popcorn. Microwave popcorn bags are made of paper, but the inside of the bags are coated with a substance to keep the paper bag from disintegrating from grease and heat. When heated, this substance breaks down into something called PFOA.

PFOA has been identified as a possible carcinogen by the EPA. That sounds bad, but the FDA has determined that a very small amount of this PFOA actually makes it onto the popcorn you are eating. So you'd have to eat a lot of popcorn, even more than I do, to consume a level of PFOA to be worried about. And the FDA also discovered that microwave popcorn did not account for all of the levels of PFOA found in consumers' blood, so it's a good bet that PFOA is found in other items too.

And now there is concern that the artificial butter flavoring is lethally harmful, too. Microwave popcorn plant employees were discovered to have a much higher than average incidences of bronchitis, asthma, and obstructed breathing. And now OSHA has identified a chemical in the artificial butter flavoring that causes a potentially deadly disease that destroys lung tissue.

The chemical in artificial butter flavoring is Diacetyl. Diacetyl is not only used in artificial butter flavoring used for microwave popcorn, but is FDA approved to enhance flavor in other products like beer, wine, and cheese-flavored items.

Interestingly enough, despite the devastating effects of Diacetyl on the employees of microwave popcorn plants, The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have deemed it safe for consumers to eat products containing Diacetyl.

But you might want to use your own version of microwave popcorn, like I do. Buy brown paper sandwich bags. Pour in ¼ cup of popcorn kernels. Fold over and staple the top closed. Pop in your microwave on high until it stops popping, just like the kind you buy. Flavor and enjoy. Just in case you are worried, I usually use two staples and have never had sparks in the microwave. And some people put a couple teaspoons of olive or vegetable oil in the bag when they pop. I found, however, that the oil left the microwave a big mess, and really didn't enhance the popcorn at all. I'd rather melt some real butter and pour over along with a pinch or two of coarse salt.

Enjoy your popcorn!