Study Finds Potential Inhalation Danger to Food-flavoring Manufacturing Workers
Workers in the food-flavoring manufacturing industry may be at risk of developing an irreversible type of damage to the lungs, according to a study presented the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Atlanta on May 20. Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine found five workers at a food flavoring manufacturing plant who developed bronchiolitis obliterans, a type of lung damage to the lining of the airways that leads to narrowing of the small airways and irreversible airway obstruction.
“There are hundreds of substances used in the food flavoring manufacturing industry, and most have never been studied in terms of how they may affect the respiratory health of workers,” said James E. Lockey, M.D., the study’s lead researcher. “These workers come into contact with large amounts of flavoring agents, sometimes in high concentrations, during the manufacturing process.”