rbg@cbosgd.UUCP (Richard Goldschmidt) (07/29/85)
In article <241@bbncc5.UUCP>, sdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer) writes: > ... I think peanut butter is harmful to me. I'm not sure if you were being serious or not, but peanut butter does contain a aflatoxin - a potent carcinogen, which is produced by a mold which grows on peanuts stored in a humid environment. The FDA regulates an "acceptable" level of aflatoxin for commercial peanut butter products. Rich Goldschmidt {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax,allegra,seismo} !cbosgd!rbg ARPA: cbosgd!rbg@seismo or cbosgd!rbg@ucbvax
larry@kitty.UUCP (Larry Lippman) (08/02/85)
> In article <241@bbncc5.UUCP>, sdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer) writes: > > ... I think peanut butter is harmful to me. > > I'm not sure if you were being serious or not, but peanut butter does > contain a aflatoxin - a potent carcinogen, which is produced by a mold > which grows on peanuts stored in a humid environment. The FDA regulates > an "acceptable" level of aflatoxin for commercial peanut butter products. > > Rich Goldschmidt {ucbvax,ihnp4,decvax,allegra,seismo} !cbosgd!rbg > ARPA: cbosgd!rbg@seismo or cbosgd!rbg@ucbvax Oh boy! What a great opportunity for me to upset a whole bunch of people! Rich Goldschmidt hit the nail on the head, but only told a *small* part of the "Aflatoxin Story". Now I'm going to tell the rest... Aflatoxins are highly toxic mycotoxins produced by fungi, typically Aspergillus flavus. There are at least six known aflatoxins - B1, B2, G1, G2, M1 and M2 - all of which are gen-u-wine NIOSH-registered carcinogens. The FDA holds than any concentration greater than 20 parts per *billion* is hazardous to human health. The FDA requires that the following susceptible products be tested for aflatoxins according to AOAC methods: cocoa beans, coconut, copra and copra meal, corn, cottenseed products, eggs, feeds, green coffee, nuts and nut products, and soybeans. I took the liberty of digging out a book from our research library and herewith quote from "Cancer Causing Chemicals" by N. Sax: "Aflatoxin B1 is one of the most potent causes of hepatocellular carcinoma and colon and kidney tumors in rats or rainbow trout. It can infect rice, corn, cottonseed meal, copra, as well as ground nuts, sesame seeds, pistachio and other tree nuts, cocoa nuts and cocoa-nuts products, maize, barley, sorghum, millet, oats, rye and cassava and even beer. Ingested aflatoxins may be stored in animal tissues or excrete in milk. "Samples of nearly every major dietary staple have been found to contain some aflatoxin at one time or another." Think about it. BEER, too! Bear in mind that aflatoxin is a *toxin* and as such is a chemical product of a living organism; it is no longer alive and can NOT be rendered harmless by usual methods of sterilization. The melting points of the various aflatoxins are over 250 deg C, so they are hardly going to be destroyed by boiling or autoclaving. Aflatoxins are also almost insoluble in water, so they won't wash out... Enjoy! {There is a way to put this issue in perspective, but I feel mean today and won't do it.} Larry Lippman Recognition Research Corp. Clarence, New York UUCP {decvax,dual,rocksanne,rocksvax,watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry {rice,shell}!baylor!kitty!larry syr!buf!kitty!larry VOICE 716/741-9185 TELEX {via WUI} 69-71461 answerback: ELGECOMCLR "Have you hugged your cat today?"
steiny@scc.UUCP (Don Steiny) (08/03/85)
> > "Aflatoxin B1 is one of the most potent causes of hepatocellular > carcinoma and colon and kidney tumors . . . > "Samples of nearly every major dietary staple have been found to > contain some aflatoxin at one time or another." > > Enjoy! {There is a way to put this issue in perspective, but I feel > mean today and won't do it.} > Larry Lippman The article leads me to the conclusion that since EVERYTHING we eat contains carcinigens that are incredibly potent, then perhaps there is much less to fear from environmental carcinigens than one might expect. And I went to all that trouble to quit smoking . . . :-) -- scc!steiny Don Steiny @ Don Steiny Software 109 Torrey Pine Terrace Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060