I’m going to post an entry for no other reason than sniping hits off a hot new topic: azodicarbonamide.
In case you haven’t taken a look at America recently, it’s filled mainly with hysterical, cowards who’ve had poor science education. Recently they’ve been agonizing over a flour additive called azodicarbonamide.
Why be wary of azodicarbonamide? Because it has a long, scientific name and it causes health problems if you inhale it (much like flour itself). There’s also stiff fines in Singapore for using azodicarbonamide, a country that also mandates stiff fines for not flushing the toilet.
At the moment there’s little scientific documentation on the health effects of azodicarbonamide, because it is added to bread in prodigiously small amounts so no scientist is really going to care. But we do know that azodicarbonamide inhibits HIV replication, which seems like an odd trait for a foaming agent, but that’s science for you.
The azodicarbonamide fear-mongering has already reached the attention of the skeptical community. This forum thread is fun because the user SkeptiChick replies to the initial post with an uncommented link to a 5,000 word scientific paper, and then when a another forum member posts she chastises him with "Didn’t you read my link?"
Next fashionable food ailment I’ll cover: Cinnamon allergies.
