Major Product of Acetaldehyde + Dilute Base: Acetic Acid

[nishant]

if we treat acetaldehyde with dilute base which out of the following two will be the major product:
a}acetic acid
b}alpha hydroxy butanal
Ofcourse anyone would think of an aldol product which would be [B]beta hydroxy butanal[/B],but that is not given here,isn't there a slight chance that acetic acid is formed from oxidation of acetaldehyde by dilute base?

 

[GCT]

didn't I answer this question at chemicalforums? It's acetic acid. Acetaldehyde has alpha hydrogens, yet acetic acid will still be formed in certain amounts due to the reactions between two aldehydes. You can ask any specific questions on the cannizzaro reaction if you wish.