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From: dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.COM (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.bio,sci.chem
Subject: Re: Allergic/Anaphylaxic Reaction
Message-ID: <3132@ursa-major.SPDCC.COM>
Date: 29 Apr 89 16:29:14 GMT
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In article <51030@philabs.Philips.Com>, vampire@philabs.philips.com (Rich Hemmer) writes:
> 	I have an allergic reaction problem which involves only
> 	microwave popcorn or packaged popcorn.   I have cross posted
> 	this article inorder to give many 'experts' in medicine, bio
> 	and chem a chance to help.  So please, NO FLAMES.

Perhaps it's from the artificial color added to the popcorn.  I just
looked at my never-to-be-opened again box of "Orville Reddenbacher's
Cheddar Cheese Microwave Popcorn" and noticed that the popcorn itself
(not the cheese pouch) contains F. & D. Color #5.  Now, that particular
food color is also known as tartrazine, which is a known allergen; usually
it shows cross-sensitivity with aspirin in aspirin-allergic individuals.
I don't know off-hand whether this color is frequently found in other
microwave popcorns or not.

I'd recommend that you write to the manufacturers of the brands which
you known to have caused you trouble and relate to them why it's important
that you find out what is causing it so you can avoid it in OTHER foods
(presumably having given up microwave popcorn.)

Your experience isn't too far-fetched.  I'm not prone to food allergies,
but I experienced a VERY strange reaction to the brand I mentioned
above.  There's this cheese pouch (okay, well, orange powdery stuff)
which you shake over the hot cooked popcorn.  Within minutes of eating
the popcorn, my lips and chin were itching, which was not helped by the
 fact that I have a beard, which was now festooned with the orange powdery
stuff.  Yucch.  It took a thorough washing and a night's sleep to get
rid of the itch.

Steve Dyer
dyer@ursa-major.spdcc.com aka {ima,harvard,rayssd,linus,m2c}!spdcc!dyer
dyer@arktouros.mit.edu