Food giant ConAgra Foods said it removed the chemical, called diacetyl, from Orville Redenbacher and Act II microwave popcorn brands and reformulated the flavors. The new popcorn already is on some store shelves and should be available everywhere in January, said ConAgra spokeswoman Regina DeMars.
The country's other leading makers of microwave popcorn -- General Mills, American Pop Corn Co. and Weaver Popcorn Co. -- said they, too, had removed diacetyl from their recipes.