Givaudan Flavors Faces Reinstated Popcorn Lung Claims

Givaudan Flavors Corp. will face reinstated claims that it failed to warn popcorn factory workers of the dangers of the butter flavoring additive diacetyl, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled.

A jury should decide whether the duty to warn of popcorn lung, an airway scarring condition, effectively passed from the flavor manufacturer to the factory owner, ConAgra, the court said.

The lower court erred when it dismissed the claim after finding ConAgra to be sufficiently sophisticated to warn its employees of any dangers of Givaudan’s butter flavorings, the appeals court said.

It is not clear that ...