On Mon, 29 Jan 2001 12:12:27 -0600, william schnell
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>About the nitric acid, see
>http://www.gfhnrc.ars.usda.gov/news/nws9903a.htm

All usda.gov sites reply with "server not found"...??
Have they quit the service?

Unfortunately i didn't download the files mentioned by Norm,who wrote:
>I'm using the USDA database in Microsoft Access format.  It can be
> downloaded for free from the USDA website ...
> http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/SR13/dnload/sr13dnld.html

You wrote about zinc:
>Also, the zinc _must_ be in proportion with copper (~7:1), lest one
>suffer zinc poisoning/copper deficiency which results in irregular
>heartbeat and/or 13 other listed nasty problems.

So we have to consider proper relations of copper too.
You say the relation must be about 7:1.
Which deviation if this are usual? In which food items?
Should/can zinc or copper be higher?

I would suggest a USDA database scan, sorted by relation of
zinc to copper. So we could  select out food items with
unfavourable ratios.

Norm, could you run such one?

Cheers,

Amadeus