At last, a different onion question!

Anonymous asks: "Would like to know if you can get sulphuric acid poisoning from rotting onions? Had a bag of onions in my cupboard for months and they had rotted now all I can smell is onions. Really strong at times. "

A few bits to this:

Firstly, sulphuric acid is not volatile, so you cannot smell it.   Heat it sufficiently and you will get sulphur trioxide fumes which you can definitely smell but I am talking 400degC, somewhat warmer that the average cupboard.

Secondly, it is corrosive rather than toxic.

But on to the onions.  When things rot, all manner of compounds are formed and released.  What compound and what level will be dependent on onion type and the organisms associated with the rotting.  Onions contain a lot of sulphur so the breakdown products will be smelly.  Unpleasant but not necessarily harmful.

Chuck them out and air the cupboard.  There is not much else you can do.
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Nuts to that!

Reading an article in Food Quality New I was a bit confused about the about photo (above), said to be of pecan shells.  Well, there may be pecans there at the back but the foreground is all almond and brazil nuts.

For the record, pecans look like this:

The gist of the article, though, was about the use of dried, powdered pecan shells as a natural, organic antibiotic, specifically against Listeria sp.

I would just like to point out that natural and organic are not the sole criteria for food safety.  Strychnine, cyanide, arsenic and aflatoxins are all well encompassed by the 'natural and organic' umbrella.  OK,  arsenic's not organic.  Just testing.  Lots (I mean lots of lots) of things contain organic compounds that exhibit antibiotic properties when concentrated and deposited of some unsuspecting bacteria.

But nothing beats having the bacteria not present in the first place.

No amount of powdered hoodoo dust will trump good manufacturing practices and plant hygiene.
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