WASHINGTON Federal and state authorities are investigating the potential health risks to kitchen workers of being exposed to diacetyl, an artificial butter flavoring chiefly used in popcorn.
Officials from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health took samples of cooking oils and sprays used in kitchens serving the New York offices of JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs. The facilities are operated by Philadelphia-based Aramark.
NIOSH also plans to repeat similar tests at two Seattle locations also operated by Aramark.
Kristine Grow, a spokeswoman for Aramark, said NIOSH told the on-site company that it found nothing of concern in preliminary tests. However, the institute is conducting a more thorough analysis of the samples.
Separately, California's Occupational Safety & Health Administration is reportedly looking to set curbs on workers' exposure to the flavoring. A national newsletter called Inside OSHA reported Monday that the standards would apply to restaurant employees. But but Steve Smith, health program manager for Cal/OSHA, told Nation's Restaurant News that there has not been much discussion yet about including restaurant workers in the recommendations, which he said are still in the advisory stage of development.
Washington State has already issued an advisory to cooks and restaurant workers, warning them of the danger of inhaling the vapors that diacetyl can give off when heated. It advises them to check product labels to see if "diacetyl" or "artificial flavoring" is listed within the ingredients. If the item does indeed contain diacetyl, says the advisory, "if possible, substitute butter-flavored oils with products that contain less diacetyl or no added diacetyl."
Inside OSHA also reported that Edwin Foulke, head of the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration, acknowledged in a speech that the agency was missing its internal deadline for drafting preliminary guidelines on diacetyl exposure.
Studies have linked exposure to diacetyl with a rare and sometimes fatal lung disease known as obliterative bronchiolitis, sometimes called popcorn lung. While diacetyl is chiefly associated with flavorings used in microwave popcorn, it also is an ingredient in butter-flavored cooking oils and sprays used in restaurants. Previously, the disease has been identified only in a few locations in the manufacturing environment.
The investigation of Aramark-managed facilities was prompted by a request from Local 100 of UNITE HERE, a hotel, restaurant and hospitality workers union that has been attempting to organize employees at the contractor's 3,500 foodservice operations in the United States since last summer.
Published reports indicated that the two Aramark-serviced venues in Seattle are the Washington State Trade and Convention Center and KeyArena. Spokeswoman Grow said she could only confirm that the KeyArena was under investigation.
"The safety of our workers is a priority, and we have cooperated completely with NIOSH," she said.
Meanwhile, Aramark has replaced all butter-flavored spray oils containing diacetyl, and the company is currently working to find a replacement for one other oil containing the chemical.