At 04:12 PM 8/28/97 -0400, you wrote:
>On Thu, 28 Aug 1997, John C. Pavao wrote:
>
>> Vinegar is not allowed on Neanderthin; no processed foods are.
>
>I've wondered about this.  Vinegar is fermented, but should
>contain no proteins that the original fruit would not have
>contained.  Some of the original sugars are fermented out,
>leaving acetic acid.  It's not clear to me why this would cause
>an immune response, and the stuff is usually consumed in minute
>amounts, so I don't see much chance of toxicity either.

Especially in stuff like hot sauce.  How much of the stuff can you use,
anyway?  (Well, actually, I can use quite a bit, so that's not a fair
question.)  I ain't giving up my Crystal Hot Sauce!  Back, you ravening
hordes, back!  ::brandishing chili spoon in one hand, jar of hot sauce in
the other::

Hot sauce is probably the only product that I consume containing vinegar,
since vinegar generally makes me wheeze (mold allergy, I believe).  It
doesn't affect me in hot sauce, for some reason.  Probably the capsaicin (sp).

>I have a similar question about dextrose as a minor additive in
>foods.  Dextrose is just glucose, which is found in higher
>concentrations in many fruits; it is hardly an alien substance.
>The difference here is that, unlike vinegar, we *do* sometimes
>consume sugar in large amounts.  I can thus understand vigilance
>about sugar, but suspect that it is carried too far when foods
>are rejected due to the presence of tiny amounts of dextrose.
>
>Todd Moody
>[log in to unmask]

Thanks for articulating something I've been thinking about.  I ignore minor
amounts of dextrose in my food; I start worrying when it pushes the carb
count of the food product up.  For instance, I'll eat sausages if they have
a carb count of one or two grams per serving; when you get to four or five
grams, forget it!
(Fortunately, I can get freshly made sausage from my butcher.)

Corbie
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