popcorn bags?

[Owlet]

I read a post on Facebook that said microwavable popcorn bags can emit harmful fumes to our birds, is that true?? I've never heard that..

 

[SailBoat]

This item requires a large number of 'if's' for it to be true. As a general statement: No.
Now, 'if' your Parrot is on your shoulder when you first open the bag, the combination of steam and heated grease (smoke) creates a small ball in the air that would not be healthy for a Parrot. 'If' you allow your Parrot into that bag just after opening the same is true.
The safe go around is to keep your Parrot a way from Steam sources in general and Heated Grease (smoke) in specific. The volume of air in a small kitchen will reduce the danger within a minute after opening the bag.
And as always when cooking, a kitchen fan should always be used.
Hope that this helps.

 

[Owlet]

help a lot, I thought it was going to have to ban bagged popcorn from the household too, my brother and his girlfriend wouldn't enjoy that but I would do my best to provide alternatives where i can x.x

 

[Flboy]

Microwave popcorn that uses the artificial butter flavoring is quite bad for both our parrots and us!
Dr. Oz Reveals the Hidden Dangers of Microwave Popcorn | Fox News Insider

http://www.berkeleywellness.com/hea...ental-health/article/microwave-popcorn-danger

FYI, Costco carries an all natural brand! Very good!
https://www.costco.com/Kirkland-Sig...orn,-3.3-oz.,-44-count.product.100333888.html

In fact, that is going to be my supper tonight! Add a little butter and garlic!

Edit: I overlooked a biggie! POFA(Teflon)

Source:https://www.drweil.com/diet-nutrition/nutrition/microwave-popcorn-threat/

"There are two safety issues involving the chemicals added into many brands of microwave popcorn. The first stems from the use of diacetyl in artificial butter flavor. Diacetyl has been linked to a rare type of lung disease, bronchiolitis obliterans, also called “popcorn worker’s lung” because it has been seen primarily in workers at microwave popcorn factories. This disease destroys the lungs and can be cured only by a lung transplant. Diacetyl appears to damage lungs when it is repeatedly inhaled in vaporized form; one case involved a consumer who ate two bags of extra-butter-flavored microwave popcorn daily for more than 10 years and reported that he habitually inhaled the buttery fumes as he opened the bags.


Most manufacturers have removed diaceytl from their products, but there are some allegations in news reports that the ingredient now used to provide the butter flavor is just another version of the same chemical. Government scientists have been quoted as saying that the new “diacetyl free” microwave popcorn poses the same danger as the old stuff. But here the greatest hazard is still to workers in the popcorn factories, not consumers. Diacetyl does its damage when inhaled, not when it is eaten.

The other safety issue has to do with the chemical PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid, also known as C8), used in the lining of microwave popcorn bags. PFOA is also used to make Teflon and other stain-and stick-resistant materials including pizza boxes. In June 2005, a scientific advisory panel to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identified PFOA as a “likely carcinogen” but drew no conclusions as to whether products made with it pose a cancer risk to humans. However, animal studies have identified four types of tumors in rats and mice exposed to PFOA."

 

[noodles123]

There is a PFOA/PTFE clear-coat in the bags of many microwavable popcorns.
There is also the fume issue from the synthetic butter etc.
If you pop it yourself in a steel or aluminum pop, I imagine it is significantly safer, assuming you don't burn it.

 

[Sandy19]

I'm probably the only person on the planet that doesn't have a microwave. I used to have one that was part of a wall oven unit along with a warming drawer and when that broke I replaced it with a double oven. Now I have nowhere in my kitchen to put a microwave except the counter top and I don't like that look.

Anyway, I make popcorn the old fashioned way. Just put the oil and corn in a pot over medium heat, put the lid on it and constantly shake it back and forth until it stops popping. Then add melted butter and salt if you like. It's not as convenient as microwave, but it tastes better.

 

[noodles123]

The vintage aluminum Wagner Ware- Magnalite pots are SUPERB popcorn poppers. We literally called it "the magic popcorn pot" when I was growing up.
I know there is some controversy about aluminum, but it is safer than people think and the fumes are a non-issue as long as the oil doesn't burn. These pots can be found at thrift stores (they are from the 1930s-1970s). If you buy from ebay, you will pay a collector's fee, but keep your eyes open (the stamp on the bottom is VERY distinctive).

 

[Sandy19]

That is the exact shaped pot with the dome lid that I use for popcorn. It's not a vintage, it's an All-Clad, but same shape. It makes perfect popcorn everytime.

 

[EllenD]

I'm glad that Noodles posted what she did, because NO microwave popcorn is safe to cook around birds unless it specifically says that the packaging isn't made with PFOA/Teflon/Fluorinated Compounds, etc...That silver stuff that looks like foil on the inside of the bags (usually around the outside edge of the bag) is what keeps the bag from just "cooking" together while it's getting hot enough for the popcorn to pop...

The really awful thing about this is that there are companies who use safe micrwave popcorn bags and they pop exactly the same way as the unsafe ones that contain the PFOA, yet they ALL haven't switched over to the safe bags...I'm sure it's a cost-factor, but still..

 

[SailBoat]

And for those who remember, Movie Popcorn will also kill.

There is a reality that needs clarity here. Volume of air and the rate in which specific chemicals first release and then separate. Add steam to the mix and that also effects the separation rate. And let us not forget temperature.

Volume: Ten bags, one after the other and the 'bubble' is larger and remains for a longer period of time. At that volume, unless the Parrot is placed or kept within the 'bubble,' (the place where the bag(s) are opened) it will be very difficult to first maintain that bubble and therefore the volume of chemical(s).

There are a number of common kitchen products that in volume are problematic. It is why kitchens need proper ventilation. One should always be careful anytime a kitchen is in use. And most importantly, Parrots and cooking is never an a safe combination.

 

[EllenD]

I agree. I have 3 T-stands in my dining-room area so that my 4 larger birds can eat with me, and my kitchen/dining-room are the same big room...And they love to sit on their T-stands and play with their toys and talk to me while I'm cooking, but all of my stuff is bird-safe, and I have a heavy-duty exhaust-hood directly over my stovetop that stays on the entire time...I get nervous though, even when only using ceramic non-stick pots and pans and safe bakeware, I still get nervous...They aren't anywhere near the kitchen area (there is a bar separating the kitchen from the dining area), but I still don't like it...

Luckily popcorn makes me sick, I love it but my GI Tract doesn't...not at all...And I cannot stand that smell that microwave popcorn leaves lingering in your house for days...