A splash of body odour
It's a fairly lightweight piece of 1200 words on (some of) the wonders of vinegar, which took only three of the BBC's crack(‑smoking) reporters to write. And Zaria Gorvett didn't mention veganism even once!
Did you know that vinegar can be used to mask offensive smells that warn us when food may be unfit to eat? Well, it can!
The strong odour left by fish, for example, can be neutralised by washing with a mild acid such as vinegar. It reacts with the amines in the fish oils to form salts that cannot become airborne and offend the nose.
Zaria Gorvett, Stephen Dowling, and Richard Gray, Why vinegar is so good at cleaning, BBC Future
Fresh fish, particularly white fish, has only a mild odour, and the slightly stronger impression given by oily fish comes from its oil content. Those offensive amines, however, are caused by decay; if fish smells strongly ammoniacal, it's past its best. But I wouldn't expect a vegan to know that. Or perhaps she does, and she's hoping that by passing on dangerous disinformation, and encouraging the consumption of rancid seafood, she'll take out some of those damned flesh eaters.
Remember, kids, you read the warnings here first!
Acetic acid is pungent and a common component in body malodours
. I imagine that it's responsible for the acridity of strong body odour, but the more unpleasant olfactory characteristics come from other components.