--- a/includes/xmlparser.inc.php
+++ b/includes/xmlparser.inc.php
@@ -37,8 +37,6 @@
 		else
 			$this->data = $source;
 
-		// escape '&' characters
-		$this->data = str_replace('&', '<![CDATA[&]]>', $this->data);
 
 		// parse xml file
 		$parsed = xml_parse($this->parser, $this->data);