>>From roossin@watson.ibm.com Fri Jul  7 10:21:39 1995
>Date: Fri, 7 Jul 1995 10:24:01 -0400
>From: roossin@watson.ibm.com (Paul Roossin)
>To: drew@interport.net
>Subject: peanut butter
>
>Very funny stuff.  Your list is as nerdy as any of the science
>ones I read.  My feeling is of course to throw it out since it is
>so cheap, and at best would taste a little stale  (if it has been
>opened).  If never opened, it is OK.  Forget the stuff about the
>mold that one person mentioned -- there is a great scare about a
>fungus which produces carcinogenic aflatoxins and which grows on the
>paper thin skin on peanuts.  These skins are removed for pnut butter
>production, and all large companies measure the resulting aflatoxin
>content in their processed product, and keep it at safe levels.  The
>worst that can happen, once the jar is opened is that O2 in the air
>will make the peanut oil rancid, and the butter taste bad.
>
>The post about stablilizers is also misleading:  these compounds are
>emulsifiers.  That is, they act like soap -- they do not allow the oil and
>water components to separate.  They do not "stablilize" the product
>in any other way, such as making it more resistant to spoilage.
>
>I'll speak to you soon.
>Paul.
>
>
___________________________________
Derek Drew
drew@interport.net (main address for e-mail)
derekdrew@aol.com (alternate/backup address, checked infrequently)