Weaver Popcorn

I put a bag of Pop Weaver's microwave popcorn in the microwave. I set the timer for two minutes. In one minute, smoke was coming out of the microwave. I opened the microwave door and threw the smoking bag outside. I cleared the house of smoke and cleaned the microwave. I checked the bag of popcorn outside and it had burned half of the corn in the middle of the bag. The corn was burned so bad that it turned to ashes when I touched it.

I put a bag of Hyvee microwave popcorn in microwave so as to check what's wrong with my microwave. It popped with no problem. So it was not my microwave that is the problem, but rather it is Pop Weaver's fault. I will never buy that brand again.

By the way, I will not involve my private phone in any situation. My phone is for personal use.

Over the last three months, the Caramel and Sweet popcorn seed (50lbs bags) have been terrible! I'm only getting a little over half the kernels that we used to get. The rest is waste. The dry popper takes twice as long to pop a single batch than it used to, three months ago. We are using twice as much seed to get the same usable popped kernels. I believe the moisture content has something to do with how the kernels pop up. They are very small and 1/3 of the seed does not even pop, it just burns.

On January 30, 2009 at approximately 11:00 pm, I put a bag of Pop Weaver Extra Butter popcorn into my microwave. After about a minute I could smell something like it was burning, so opened the microwave door at which time my entire house immediately filled with a very toxic smoke. The microwave had smoke rolling from it and I was frightened because the fumes were so strong, I wasn't sure that I wasn't going to pass out. I opened the doors and kitchen windows, and turned the overhead fans on, as well as turned on the exhaust fan on the stove. I then cleaned the microwave which was covered in a sticky, slimy, yellow substance, which would not come off.

The house still has this very strong odor and it is now 5:40 pm on January 31, 2009. I have felt ill ever since the incident, with a severe headache, congestion, burning eyes, and nausea. My husband also has suffered from a severe headache and a general not well feeling. I have COPD and asthma and this incident has caused me much discomfort and difficulty breathing. I have taken a breathing treatment with my nebulizer, but still do not feel better.

The bag of popcorn smells like burnt plastic and is very hard a lumpy. No sign of popcorn. I am very concerned that there is the possibility of product tampering, and/or an ingredient in the product which caused this very toxic smoke and odor. My husband called the 800 consumer line at the Pop Weaver company and left a message telling them what had happened with the corn. He did not go into any detail about it's effects on our health in his message on the phone. I have saved the bag of popcorn. I need guidance about where to take this problem. I believe it could be a very serious problem and I don't want it left alone. I would appreciate being contacted with information on what to do about this. Thank you.