On Sat, 13 Nov 1999, Troy Gilchrist wrote: > The primary concern regarding peanuts is that they are a significant vector > for aflatoxin, one of the most carcinogenic substances known to humans. I realize that Troy, and should have included it in my post. I am not quite sure what to do with it, however. Aflatoxin causes liver cancer, but searching for a link between peanut consumption and liver cancer produces mixed results. There is, for example, a study of two peanut-eating populations in Africa, one of which showed a strong correlation between peanut consumption and liver cancer, the other of which did not. The authors of the study hypothesize that differences in climate -- especially dampness -- were responsible. The fact is that aspergillus flavus, the organism that produces the aflatoxin, grows on *many* things in damp conditions. It is in the mildew that will make spots on wet towels if you leave them in a hamper for too long. Aspergillus grows on real nuts, too, as well as on berries or anything else that is capable of getting moldy. Todd Moody [log in to unmask]