Replied By Errica (Ft. Myers, Fl) on 02/21/2011
I just read about ALUM and it is bad for you. It said that it is toxic to humans. "Alum is approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration as a food additive, but in large quantities well, an ounce or more it is toxic to humans. As a result, efforts have been made and are being made to wean us of our alum dependency"Replied By Robert Henry (Ten Mile, Tn Usa) on 02/22/2011
Errica, you are right on because Alum is Aluminum Sulfate. Aluminum is a heavy metal and ends up in your brain. For years I used Alum to make pickles crisp but no more. We have also thrown out all our Aluminum cookware. Ball has out a product now called Pickle Crisp which is Calcium Chloride. This is what the commercial folks have used for years to make their pickled veggies crisp. It is now available to all.=======ROBERT HENRY======