Posted by news on April 28, 2006 at 16:55:02:
Food Flavoring Poses Health Risk
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will intensify its investigations of some conventional food processing plants after reports of illnesses and death from a disease called Bronchiolitis obliterans. It is a progressive disease that often leads to death.
“OSHA advises its inspectors that workers may be at risk of overexposure to vapors of artificial flavorings in a variety of food processing works sites,” said Al Belsky, a spokesman for the US Labor Department.
OSHA said there are cases where workers have been affected at a potato chip plant, a candy manufacturing facility, and in a flavoring plant.
“We need to get into some of these plants because we don’t have confidence that the flavoring industry has taken steps to actually prevent this disease, and we need to determine how widespread the exposure may be,” said Dr. Kathleen Kreiss with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health.