Microwave popcorn has always been my go-to snack. It may not be as sexy as some other salty/crunchy choices, but it's cheap, easy to keep around and, I thought, healthier than scarfing down a whole bag of doritos. Then I read the following article. It seems as though I have been ingesting loads of chemicals while watching Quincy reruns. Wha?!?!? I thought I was being GOOD!What the toxicologist won't eat: microwave popcorn
Olga Naidenko, Ph.D., is a senior scientist for the Environmental Working Group.
The problem: Chemicals, including perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), in the lining of the bag, are part of a class of compounds that may be linked to infertility in humans, according to a recent study from UCLA. In animal testing, the chemicals cause liver, testicular and pancreatic cancer. Studies show that microwaving causes the chemicals to vaporize—and migrate into your popcorn. "They stay in your body for years and accumulate there," says Naidenko, which is why researchers worry that levels in humans could approach the amounts causing cancers in laboratory animals. DuPont and other manufacturers have promised to phase out PFOA by 2015 under a voluntary EPA plan, but millions of bags of popcorn will be sold between now and then.
Sigh, I wonder if I can find jiffy-pop in Vienna.-k.
4 comments:
and to celebrate this chemical disaster, jodi and i are sharing some orville's tonight while we watch 3 hours of lost.
Just buy regular popcorn and pop it in a pot on top of the stove. It's really not that difficult (not that I've done it in years, but I'm not a big popcorn lover except for the really healthy stuff they have in the movie theatres and it must be dripping in butter!
eileen
I started popping it the old fashioned way (on the stove w/ a little vegetable oil) about 2 years ago. Something just didn't sit well w/ me when that guy got "popcorn lung" a few years back. An Luke loves to watch it pop (thanks to today's glass top pot lids). I also sprinkle a little sea salt on top. Try it Kel. It just seems more "normal". I also make my own pudding now. Very easy and I know what's in it.
coll
I , too, have heard terrible things about microwave popcorn as far as chemicals go and stopped buying it. Michael ( my son) has yet realized yet. i do have a hot air popper that i need to dig out my attic
Helen
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