NIOSH Director Expresses Concerns on Safety of Diacetyl Substitutes

Following a December 16, 2009, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) “green” workshop, NIOSH Director John Howard wrote to the head of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to indicate that “many of the chemicals and materials used as alternatives to diacetyl for imparting butter flavor to flavoring mixtures and food products are not known to be less hazardous.” Additional information about a NIOSH report on diacetyl substitutes appears in Issue 330 of this Update.

Howard’s December 23 letter discusses potential diacetyl replacements, including (i) “starter mix,” which apparently contains “high concentrations of diacetyl itself”; (ii) acetoin, which has not been completely investigated, but “accompanies diacetyl in many of the workplaces where bronchiolitis obliterans occurs in workers who make or use flavorings”; and (iii) 2,3-pentanedione, currently being researched by NIOSH, and purportedly associated with “airway epithelial damage similar to that produced by diacetyl.”