Popcorn Bag
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Microwave popcorn is a
convenience food Convenience food (also called tertiary processed food) is food that is commercially prepared (often through processing) for ease of consumption, and is usually ready to eat without further preparation. It may also be easily portable, have ...
consisting of unpopped
popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns, or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated. The term also refers to the snack food produced by the expansion. It is one of the oldest snacks, with evidence of p ...
in an enhanced, sealed
paper bag A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibres to meet customers' demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping bag, shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some co ...
intended to be heated in a
microwave oven A microwave oven, or simply microwave, is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces Dipole#Molecular dipoles, polar molecules in the food to rotate and ...
. In addition to the dried corn, the bags typically contain
cooking oil Cooking oil (also known as edible oil) is a plant or animal liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. Oil allows higher cooking temperatures than water, making cooking faster and more flavorful, while likewise distributing h ...
with sufficient saturated fat to solidify at room temperature, one or more
seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, and/or salts, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Salt may ...
s (often
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
), and natural or
artificial flavoring A flavoring (or flavouring), also known as flavor (or flavour) or flavorant, is a food additive that is used to improve the taste or smell of food. It changes the perceptual impression of food as determined primarily by the chemoreceptors of t ...
s or both.


Design

The bag is typically partially folded when it is placed in a microwave, and inflates as a result of
steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and eve ...
from the heated kernels. Microwave popcorn bags are designed to avoid popped-kernel scorching, an undesirable effect that takes place when popped kernels are heated above . A
susceptor A susceptor is a material used for its ability to absorb electromagnetic energy and convert it to heat (which in some cases is re-emitted as infrared thermal radiation). The electromagnetic energy is typically radiofrequency or microwave radia ...
—usually a metalized film laminated onto the paper of the bag—absorbs
microwave Microwave is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths shorter than other radio waves but longer than infrared waves. Its wavelength ranges from about one meter to one millimeter, corresponding to frequency, frequencies between 300&n ...
s and concentrates heat at the film interface, thus ensuring a heat distribution focused on the hard-to-heat flavor coating so that the unpopped kernels are evenly coated prior to popping, thereby ensuring even flavor throughout the product. Some popcorn is flawed and will not pop because of possible damage to the shell, which allows the steam to escape. These unpopped kernels are known as "old maids" or "spinsters". An early susceptor popcorn bag design was patented by the American company
General Mills General Mills, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded ultra-processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in ...
in 1981 (US Patent #4,267,420).


History

The first use of popping corn kernels was when
Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...
engineer
Percy Spencer Percy Spencer (July 19, 1894 – September 8, 1970) was an American physicist, electrical engineer and inventor, known as the inventor of the microwave oven. Early life Spencer was born in Howland, Maine. Eighteen months later, Spencer's fathe ...
further tested his
observation Observation in the natural sciences is an act or instance of noticing or perceiving and the acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the percep ...
of a nut candy bar melting in his pocket while working with
radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...
tubes Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a Japanese rock band * Tube & Berger, the alias of dance/electronica producers Arndt Röri ...
during
WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Safety issues

Care in package design is needed for
food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...
. A safety issue is that the cooking time given on the packaging does not apply to all microwave ovens. Setting the timer and coming back later, after the timer's alarm has sounded, could result in the popcorn being burnt and smoking badly. Microwave popcorn makers suggest that the person cooking the popcorn stay near the oven to observe the popcorn as it cooks, and take the popcorn out when the time between pops is more than a few seconds. Some microwave ovens have a specific mode designed for cooking popcorn, which either uses factory-calibrated time and power level settings, or which uses humidity or sound sensors to detect when popping has finished. The concern about microwave popcorn bags has increased in terms of the waste and their harmful impacts on the environment. The coating materials used in microwave popcorn bags can have negative effects on the environment. Researchers have detected toxic chemicals in the bags, such as
perfluorinated compound A perfluorinated compound (PFC) or perfluoro compound is an Organofluorine chemistry, organofluorine compound that lacks C-H bonds. Many perfluorinated compounds have properties that are quite different from their C-H containing analogues. Common ...
s (PFCs) and their potential precursors.


Harmful chemicals

Researchers have detected many PFCs in microwave popcorn bags used as coating materials for oil and moisture resistance. The amount of PFOA in some microwave popcorn bags is determined as high as 300 μg kg−1.T. H. BEGLEY, K. WHITE, P. HONIGFORT, M. L. TWAROSKI, R. NECHES, & R. A. WALKER, Perfluorochemicals: Potential sources of and migration from food packaging, ''Food Additives and Contaminants,'' October 2005; 22(10): 1023–1031. Besides PFOA and PFOS, Moral et al. also determined other perfluorocarboxylic acids (PFCAs) in popcorn packaging, including perfluoroheptanoic (PFHpA), perfluorononanoic (PFNA), perfluorodecanoic (PFDA), perfluoroundecanoic (PFUnA), and perfluorododecanoic (PFDoA) acids.Marı´aPilarMartı´nez-Moral, Marı´a Teresa Tena, Determination of perfluorocompounds in popcorn packaging by pressurised liquid extraction and ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, ''Talanta'' 101 (2012) 104–109. Due to the toxicity of PFOA, major U.S. manufacturers volunteered to phase out production of PFOA by the end of 2015. In addition, the use of perfluoroalkyl ethyl-containing food-contact substances are no longer allowed by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations in January 2016.Drinking Water Health Advisory for Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA),EPA 822-R-16-005, May 2016. However, although the production of PFOA and PFOS was reduced, the production of fluorotelomer-based chemicals applied to food contact papers is still increasing. Some compounds, such as polyfluoroalkyl phosphate surfactants (PAPs) or
fluorotelomer Fluorotelomers are fluorocarbon-based oligomers, or telomers, synthesized by telomerization. Some fluorotelomers and fluorotelomer-based compounds are a source of environmentally persistent perfluorinated carboxylic acids such as PFOA and PFNA, w ...
s (FTOH), have been used in some brands of microwave popcorn bags. Those compounds are precursors of PFCAs, and evidence shows that they are more toxic than PFCAs themselves. Furthermore, they may also be degraded to PFCAs, and therefore leading to the increase of PFCAs concentrations in the environment and generating adverse effects.I. Zabaletaa,n , E. Bizkarguenaga a , D. Bilbao a , N. Etxebarriaa,b , A. Prietoa,b , O. Zuloaga, Fast and simple determination of perfluorinated compounds and their potential precursors in different packaging materials,''Talanta'' 152 (2016) 353–363.


Environmental impacts

Because of the large amount of production of microwave popcorn bags, they have also become a significant contaminant source (PFCs) to the environment. Due to the disposal of
coated paper Coated paper (also known as enamel paper, gloss paper, and thin paper) is paper that has been coated with a mixture of materials or a polymer to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness, or reduced ink ab ...
and manufacturing activities, PFOA has also been detected in wastewater and
biosolids Biosolids are solid organic matter recovered from a sewage treatment process and used as fertilizer. In the past, it was common for farmers to use animal manure to improve their soil fertility. In the 1920s, the farming community began also to us ...
.Renner, R. 2009. EPA finds record PFOS, PFOA levels in Alabama grazing fields. ''Environmental Science & Technology'' 43(3):1245–1246. Soil near disposal sites are contaminated by PFOA as well.Xiao, F., M.F. Simcik, T.R. Halbach, and J.S. Gulliver. 2015. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) in soils and groundwater of a U.S. metropolitan area: Migration and implications for human exposure. ''Water Research'' 72:64–74.


See also

*
Kettle corn Kettle corn is a sweet-and-savory variety of popcorn that is typically mixed or seasoned with a light-colored refined sugar, salt, and oil. It was traditionally made in cast iron kettles, hence the name, but in modern times other types of pots a ...
*
List of popcorn brands This is a list of notable popcorn brands. Popcorn, also known as popping corn, is a type of corn (maize, ''Zea mays'' var. ''everta'') that expands from the seed, kernel and puffs up when heated. Popcorn is able to pop because its kernels have a ...
*
Popcorn maker A popcorn maker (also called a popcorn popper) is a machine used to make popcorn. Since ancient times, popcorn has been a popular snack food, produced through the explosive expansion of kernels of heated corn (maize). Commercial large-scale pop ...
* Pop Secret


Notes


External links


Microwave popcorn patent dispute between General Mills and Hunt-WessonWho Invented Microwave Popcorn?How was Popcorn Discovered? The History of PopcornWho Invented the First Commercial Popcorn Machine?
{{Packaging American inventions Popcorn Food packaging