OSHA released a Safety and Health Information Bulletin on health hazards posed to workers by occupational exposure to certain chemicals used to add flavor and aroma to food and other products. Occupational Exposure to Flavoring Substances: Health Effects and Hazard Control explains that the food flavoring diacetyl, as well as some diacetyl substitutes, can burn the eyes, cause soreness in the nose and throat, and irritate the skin and produce a severe lung disease that has disabled or killed workers. Known initially as "popcorn lung," the disease was first described among workers exposed to the flavoring compound diacetyl, which is used in the production of low-fat, butter-flavored popcorn. However, recent laboratory studies demonstrated that work environments where chemicals are used as substitutes for diacetyl, such as flavoring manufacturing plants and plants where flavors are added to snack foods, baked goods, and candy, may also harm airways in animals. If workers exposed to diacetyl or substitute chemicals experience symptoms including persistent cough and shortness of breath, they are advised to ask their employers to send them to a doctor for evaluation.

OSHA has also issued a one-page Worker Alert on diacetyl hazards