OMAHA, Neb. – On Monday, ConAgra Foods announced that it has reformulated its Orville Redenbacher’s and ACT II microwave popcorn brands with a new butter flavoring that has no added diacetyl. These newly reformulated products are arriving on store shelves now.

“Microwave popcorn has been one of America’s favorite snacks for years because it is delicious and convenient. Orville Redenbacher’s and ACT II have all of the nutrition benefits of a whole grain, zero grams of trans fat per serving, and now no added diacetyl flavoring,” Stan Jacot, vice president of Marketing for ConAgra Foods’ popcorn business, said in a press release.

“Our flavor experts have reformulated all varieties of Orville Redenbacher's and ACT II microwave popcorn to address any consumer perceptions about diacetyl and to make our popcorn factories as safe as possible. We want to assure our consumers they can continue to enjoy their favorite popcorn with complete confidence,” he said.

All packages with the new formulas will have “No Added Diacetyl” printed near the date code. Additionally, ConAgra Foods is introducing a new packaging design for all of its reformulated microwave popcorn products that will state “New Great Tasting Butter Flavor” on the front of the box, along with “No Added Diacetyl Butter Flavorings” printed on the side of the box near the nutritional information.

ConAgra has designed an upcoming media campaign that includes TV, Internet, public relations and point-of-sales components to disseminate news of the new formulation.

The changes come after Congress threatened action to monitor levels of diacetyl. In September, the House did not pass a bill that ordered quick action by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to put in place a diacetyl-monitoring standard. Also that month, OSHA began the process to regulate diacetyl in popcorn plants.

Both the Bush administration and NACS opposed congressional interference on this issue. NACS said it is bad public policy for Congress to circumvent the regular process of regulatory rulemaking and has joined with other members of the business community in opposing this bill.