  The stability of strange matter depends on the implicit assumption that
baryon number is conserved. We examine the relevant effective operators which
allow strangelets to decay by violating the conservation of baryon number. From
the experimental lower limit of 10$^{25}$ years on the stability of nuclei, we
find a lower limit of the order 10$^6$ years on the stability of strangelets
against such exotic decays.

Nuclear Theory;High Energy Physics - Phenomenology