Resources for Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

Additive found in more than 6,000 products

seattlepi.nwsource.com

Natural diacetyl is found in a variety of products, including dairy products, fruit and wine. French scientist Louis Pasteur identified diacetyl in his research on the fermentation of beer and ale in the 1860s. It was more than 80 years ago that European chemists concocted diacetyl in a laboratory by chemically synthesizing it from methyl ethyl ketone. The use of the artificial butter flavoring spread rapidly.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration did little about the reports from NIOSH. OSHA, which sets limits on how much of a dangerous substance a worker can be subjected to, said in 2000 that it had no standards for the flavoring and that it wasn't a problem because the Food and Drug Administration considered diacetyl "safe."

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