PINK PEPPER--READ THIS BEFORE YOU ORDER IT!

Oldman · June 21, 2005, 01:03:29 AM

My order came into from World Merchants today. ( http://www.worldspice.com/ )

Everything was as promised. The Worcestershire Powder is just unbelieveable. Everything I ordered is outstanding except one item. Now if you use Worcestershire Sauce in any of your recipes you owe it to yourself to get a couple of ounces of this powder.

Now on to the warning~~! When I ordered the Pink Pepper I overlooked on their web site that it is listed as coming from the Schinus bush!!! Bush??? Hell the thing will grow to over 30 feet tall.

Given I'm a major gardener--and in the world of organics I'm considered somewhat a guru, and also given the fact that this berry almost killed me as a child I take full blame for not reading the print before ordering it. As soon as I tasted one of them I knew what it was, and I could not get it out of my mouth fast enough.

Common Names: Brazilian pepper, Florida holly, Christmas berry, pepper tree. EDIT There is a true Florida holly, don't confuse it with this plant.

Quote: (see Ref. below)
Brazilian pepper is a member of the Anacardiaceae family. Contact with most parts of Brazilian pepper can cause an itchy skin rash and sometimes inflammation and swelling of the face and eyes. The flowers and fruits can cause respiratory irritation. Just trimming Brazilian pepper, especially when in bloom, can cause these allergic reactions in many people. Ingestion of the berries causes vomiting. 

As a kid I could to testify to that part about vomiting. I vomited past the point of dry heaves I threw up to the point I saw my own bowel. I ended up in a hospital so I could be given fluids to rehydrate by body. As I said, that berry damn near killed me. I was one sick little puppy for several days.

Quote: (See Ref below)
Possession and cultivation of Brazilian pepper is illegal in Florida where the species is listed on the state's official Noxious Weeds List. 

Quote: (dictionary.com)<hr noshade size="1">nox·ious (nkshs)
adj. Harmful to living things; injurious to health: physically harmful or destructive to living beings.<hr noshade size="1">
We have tons of Brazilian peppers plants growing in Florida. Which gives me rise to question their $5.00 per ounce cost. I'm going to go ahead and pay these foks as I have spoken with them on the phone concerning another matter and I believe they are honest people. However, I'm going to link them to this posting as perhaps they do not know about the dangers of eating this berry.

Click To Enlarge

This is one tough tree to kill. You can cut it down, spike the trunk with whatever you want. It will come back. I got rid of the two we had by covering the trunk, and base root area in heavy black plastic and then covered it with much compost to hold it down. It took the better part of a year to kill it. Not much will live without sunlight.

In closing I will add this. I'm not a weak person. As a kid I use to chew the young stems of this bush/ tree for it flavor and jucies--the very things that give allergic reactions to so many people. I never got sick until that one day I decided to eat those berries.

A number of years back my neighbor was cutting one down and he had a strong reaction. When things settled down I went over there with my chainsaw, got that sap all over me and nothing. No reaction...but damn those berries~~! [:D]

Olds

Ref: http://www.floridata.com/ref/S/schi_ter.cfm

whitetailfan · June 21, 2005, 05:20:38 PM

I can only come to the conclusion that the pink pepper is crushed berries. If this is the case, how the heck can people sell something that is bound to kill somebody one day???

whitetailfan
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

Phone Guy · June 21, 2005, 05:41:06 PM

How would you use this? I guess I don't get it. Maybe if your inviting someone over that you don't like? That gives me an idea... Can I buy a few pounds at a time?[}:)][}:)]

HCT · June 21, 2005, 05:52:54 PM

Thanks for the heads up.

Oldman · June 22, 2005, 09:05:14 AM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I can only come to the conclusion that the pink pepper is crushed berries.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">It is not crushed. It is just like those pictured but dried.

Olds

Kummok · June 22, 2005, 06:24:31 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by whitetailfan
 ......If this is the case, how the heck can people sell something that is bound to kill somebody one day???......
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hmmmm, ask General Motors...."Friends don't let friends drive Chevys!" [;)][;)][:D] (Ouch! I'm gonna get blasted for THAT one[:0] )

Actually, I had to laugh a little on that question, WTF....what with a rather large collection over 300 OLD weapons of all types around the place here[;)] Guys like Winchester, Colt, Smith, Wesson, Berreta, etc. started coming to mind...Then Ford, GM, Chrysler, Dodge Brothers,etc., then the Whirlpool, RCA, Maytag, then Harley Davidon, Ducati, Triumph, Schwinn and on and on..... DON'T encourage the wacko litigators too much with broad questions like that one[;)][;)][:D]

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA

Oldman · June 22, 2005, 08:32:20 PM

I recieved this reply today from the vendor:
<hr noshade size="1"><hr noshade size="1"><hr noshade size="1">Dear Raye,

I am looking into the matter of the pink peppercorns and will contact you
again when I have complete and detailed information. I have consumed said
pink peppercorns on numerous occasions with no ill effects and we have been
selling them to restaurants and individuals for 10 years with no problems.
My initial research also shows that other commercial vendors are also
selling the same variety. I suspect that there may be variables such as
fresh vs. dry product and total quantity consumed that effect how the body
metabolizes them. At any rate, I am following up in detail and will contact
you again soon with whatever information I glean. I hope that you will
consider posting my findings on your forum and please be assured that we
have no intention of poisoning our customers!

Regards,
Amanda Bevill
World Spice Merchants<hr noshade size="1"><hr noshade size="1"><hr noshade size="1">

Olds

whitetailfan · June 22, 2005, 09:28:33 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Kummok
 <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by whitetailfan
 ......If this is the case, how the heck can people sell something that is bound to kill somebody one day???......
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Hmmmm, ask General Motors...."Friends don't let friends drive Chevys!" [;)][;)][:D] (Ouch! I'm gonna get blasted for THAT one[:0] )

Actually, I had to laugh a little on that question, WTF....what with a rather large collection over 300 OLD weapons of all types around the place here[;)] Guys like Winchester, Colt, Smith, Wesson, Berreta, etc. started coming to mind...Then Ford, GM, Chrysler, Dodge Brothers,etc., then the Whirlpool, RCA, Maytag, then Harley Davidon, Ducati, Triumph, Schwinn and on and on..... DON'T encourage the wacko litigators too much with broad questions like that one[;)][;)][:D]

35 years of extinguishing smoking stuff and now I'm wondering WHY!
Kummok @ Homer, AK USA
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Interesting thoughts Kummok, but you have me way out of context.
In our world there have been, and always will be, advances that will likely endanger human life, and some specifically designed to end it.

After reading Raye's posting, I was left with the feeling that the possibility of severe adverse reaction to this spice, would be well outside of tolerable levels. Perhaps I over-read his warning.

whitetailfan
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

bsolomon · June 22, 2005, 10:19:08 PM

I'm certainly no botanist, but I do like to use Pink Peppercorns, so I did a little research. It looks like there is some ambiguity in the use of the term "Schinus bush". It looks like there are at least 30 different species that fall into this designation, of which two seem to be cited for most of the pink peppercorns on the market. Of the two, it looks like Schinus molle may be more mild in terms of possible irritation than Schinus terebinthifolius, and this latter looks like the one Olds had his run-in with. In either case, it seems like contact with the tree itself seems to be far more of the problem than the beries...

Schinus molle L.
Peruvian Pepper Tree, Peruvian Mastic Tree, Californian Pepper Tree
Aroeira, the durable timber of this species and probably of related species, is used for bridge construction and fencing (Hausen 1973). The resin of the tree is a source of American mastic.

Watt & Breyer-Brandwijk (1962) note that the leaf and bark have been used as a local application to wounds and sores.

If ingested, the fruit can cause gastro-intestinal inflammation and haemorrhoids (Ruiz 1940), but has been used as a substitute for black pepper (Piper nigrum L., fam. Piperaceae) in Latin America, and northern and southern Africa (Morton 1976).

A fragrance raw material known as schinus molle oil is the essential oil prepared by steam distillation of the green or ripe fruits of this species. Its principal constituents are pinene, phellandrene, and carvacrol. When applied undiluted to the skin of mice and swine, it was found to be non-irritant. However, when applied to rabbit skin under occlusion for 24 hours, it was found to be moderately irritant. The undiluted oil showed no phototoxicity to mice nor swine, and when applied at a concentration of 4% in petrolatum to the skin of 25 human volunteers, no sensitisation could be induced (Opdyke 1976).

Dermatitis resembling poison ivy (Toxicodendron Miller sp.) dermatitis occurs in those who become sensitised to the tree, its timber, or its sawdust. According to Hausen (1970), the dermatitis is likely to be caused by a phenolic substance, but no clinical investigations have been published.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi
(syn. Schinus aroeira Vell.)
Brazilian Pepper, Florida Holly, Christmas Berry, False Pepper
In some people, sneezing and asthma-like reactions often occur in the proximity of the blooming plant (Morton 1969).

Direct contact with the exudate from the trunk causes vesication and severe itching, the lesions resembling second-degree burns. It is also recorded that the resinous exhalation from the tree causes skin eruptions resembling those of measles or scarlet fever. This may be observed in persons resting under the tree, and in persons engaged in felling, trimming, or pruning the branches, especially while the plant is in bloom (Morton 1978a).

MallardWacker · June 23, 2005, 05:39:46 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">After reading Raye's posting, I was left with the feeling that the possibility of severe adverse reaction to this spice, would be well outside of tolerable levels......<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Dang White you would do great as a plaintiff attorney.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

whitetailfan · June 23, 2005, 07:10:24 PM

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by MallardWacker
 Dang White you would do great as a plaintiff attorney.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Hey thanks Mallard, wanna go sue some pintails or woods?

whitetailfan
"Nice Rack"
Lethbridge, AB

MallardWacker · June 23, 2005, 07:44:55 PM

And Oh they would loose.....And loose badly. No arbitration, no settlement meetings. Just face the judge in the blind.

SmokeOn,

mski
Perryville, Arkansas
Wooo-Pig-Soooie

If a man says he knows anything at all, he knows nothing what he aught to know. But...

Oldman · July 20, 2005, 09:50:21 PM

An E-mail I got today:

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Dear Mr. Minor,

My apologies for taking so long in getting back to you on the issue of pink peppercorns but frankly, there is not much to tell. We sell the same genus and species of pink peppercorn that is approved by the FDA and sold widely througout the country. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

My reply:
I would like to documentation concerning this... from a site like http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ seeing how the State Florida listed it as noxious (toxic:} http://www.floridata.com/ref/S/schi_ter.cfm

Quote: Ingestion of the berries causes vomiting....Possession and cultivation of Brazilian pepper is illegal in Florida where the species is listed on the state's official Noxious Weeds List. 

Olds

sunny2000usausa · July 25, 2005, 10:58:39 PM

[:X] my stomach was turning just reading about this and I am a nurse.. [xx(]. Keep up the good information.

Oldman · July 25, 2005, 11:30:34 PM

sunny2000usausa,

First let me say welcome to the forums. Next, I will bet my bottom dollar that these folks will continue this sell this stuff, and will not address this any further.

Olds