Gourmet Called It

Published on Thursday, May 17, 2007, by Tea / Edit Post

Gourmet magazine’s weekly newsletter perked up my day with its pick for food quote of the week. The mag’s newsletters are generally pretty brief—a note from Ruth, a little food news, some things to buy—but this week it got me laughing when it quoted an interview with California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber that was originally included in an article in the New York Times.

Lieber is the author of a bill that seeks to ban the use of diacetyl, the substance added to microwave popcorn to give it that fake buttery flavor. The chemical is also suspected of causing lung disease in factory workers who are exposed to it.

It’s not like we’re talking about a potential flaw in the polio vaccine. We are talking about a potentially devastating disease caused by buttering flavor. And there are alternatives out there. Including butter.

Amen to that!

ALLFood Media
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  • I hope this does not hijack this thread, but on the "Trans Fat" ban in some cities: Trans Fat occurs naturally in many foods. Granted, these natural Trans Fats are in fairly small amounts, but large enough that a restaurant or supermarket would not be able to say "No Trans Fat". Doesn't this cause a problem? (Again, I am not talking about Trans Fats that come from "processing" a food)

    Ian...+READ

    I hope this does not hijack this thread, but on the "Trans Fat" ban in some cities: Trans Fat occurs naturally in many foods. Granted, these natural Trans Fats are in fairly small amounts, but large enough that a restaurant or supermarket would not be able to say "No Trans Fat". Doesn't this cause a problem? (Again, I am not talking about Trans Fats that come from "processing" a food)

    Ian Lewis-COLLAPSE

  • Chardonnay doesn't have a buttery character. It's a neutral grape.
    Any butteriness comes during the winemaking 'process' - usually from aging in oak.

  • Little does Lieber know, diacetyl is what gives Chardonnay wine its distinctive buttery character. This bill is already likely to go nowhere, but I can tell you now the final nail in the coffin is going to be someone taking a picture of Lieber drinking a glass of white wine.

  • digkv, you are hilarious. Maybe dead people can sue from heaven. Talk about "invisible hand."

  • Wow. Are we talking about government intervening with something as trivial as this. It's not as if it's some horrible addictive drug. It's not really the role of the government to be preventing these things. The people should be the ones asking the companies to stop it. It's almost as ridiculous as the no trans-fat law in some cities. I mean, eventually, major fast food corps are begginning to...+READ

    Wow. Are we talking about government intervening with something as trivial as this. It's not as if it's some horrible addictive drug. It's not really the role of the government to be preventing these things. The people should be the ones asking the companies to stop it. It's almost as ridiculous as the no trans-fat law in some cities. I mean, eventually, major fast food corps are begginning to cut trans fats out, it all happens without govt. We don't need some ridiculous bill.-COLLAPSE