That herds me back into the corral, but it seems to confirm my suspicion that chemical "engineering" spends half its time knowing what to expect and the other half measuring substances to find out what happened. That doesn't happen in electronics.

I agree if you say biochemical engineering. My former life was in the biosciences and you're right – it's really complex. (Chemical non-bio engineering is not nearly as chaotic.) We know a lot and are learning quickly, but biological systems are still incredibly complicated and mysterious. Feedback cycles, receptors, signal amplification systems, genetic diversity, chemically reactive 3D structures and on and on.

To me electrical stuff seems rather simple by comparison, hence its attraction as a hobby. It's basically just logic puzzles. The workings of my iPhone are as mysterious to me as those of a chipmunk, but I know the phone was designed and built by humans. Every function inside is understood in great detail by somebody, if not me. Not so much for the chipmunk.

 

To me electrical stuff seems rather simple by comparison, hence its attraction as a hobby.

Yeah, I bought a ticket for the same ride. The fact that electrical circuits are completely knowable and the idea that doing chemistry for a paycheck requires a corporation as an employer. With electronics, I can go anywhere and fix consumer stuff for a living.

I get bored in a factory setting, doing the same products every day, for years in a row, and a factory job nails one foot to the floor. Knowing some about electronics allowed me to go anywhere in the country, any time I wanted, and not fear a lack of income. (Besides, my chemistry teacher was a very discouraging pr!<k.)

 

So, tell me about nitrocellulose as a food additive. Just a non-digestable bulk that changes the thickness, consistency, and other physical characteristics?

 

So, tell me about nitrocellulose as a food additive. Just a non-digestable bulk that changes the thickness, consistency, and other physical characteristics?

Actually I'm a little surprised you can find nitrocellulose in a a food product. I've seen it used in food-contact packaging such as a coating on paper, but not as an ingredient.

If it's actually in a food, you're correct that it's function in a processed food is not about nutrition. Most food science seems directed at replacing real food with air and water.

 

I am busy with KV right now and can't think of where I saw nitrocellulose as part of salad dressing, but that is to which I am referring.

Edit: Googling is not coming up with any answers to, "What foods contain nitrocellulose?"
I might have read something wrong.

 

I am busy with KV right now and can't think of where I saw nitrocellulose as part of salad dressing, but that is to which I am referring.

Edit: Googling is not coming up with any answers to, "What foods contain nitrocellulose?"
I might have read something wrong.

Some companies are using "full consumer awareness" as a marketing ploy and, with full disclosure, they are listing all of their ingredients in a package - including the ingredients used to make the package. The ingredients and materials used are "naturally sourced, non-petroleum based, 'renewable'", marketers view these ingredients as "better" perceived by consumers than petrobased materials. This perception seems to hold without regard to how many processing steps, packaging and transportation steps, and waste generated in the massive effort to convert natural (bio-based) products to materials.

In the case of nitro cellulose, the idea that cellulose is used as a raw material early in the value chain instead of ethylene and propylene to make polyethylene oxide/polypropylene oxide block copolymers Tethered together with a di-isocyanate to make a polyurethane.

In any case, this is a long-winded explanation that nitrocellulose is likely a clear varnish used to make a glossy surface on a package. You read a packaging ingredient, not a food ingredient. Nitrocellulose is approved for "food contact" (required for food packaging materials), not for use as a food ingredient.

 

this is a long-winded explanation

Long winded it may be, but it was what I needed. Thank you!!
It always helps to find out how I was fooled.

 

Nitrocellulose is approved for "food contact" (required for food packaging materials), not for use as a food ingredient.

I'm not so sure about that. Wasn't that what was in the candy "Pop Rocks"? That's why they took it of off the market. Or at least that's what it said on the InfoWars website.

 

I'm not so sure about that. Wasn't that what was in the candy "Pop Rocks"? That's why they took it of off the market. Or at least that's what it said on the InfoWars website.

It wasn't taken off the market -- it is still available today. What is in Pop Rocks is pressurized carbon dioxide, nothing more. They basically melt sugar and the other ingredients and then expose it to 600 psi carbon dioxide to entrain gas in the melt. Then they let it cool and high pressure gas becomes trapped in microchambers. When you put it in your mouth the candy dissolves releasing the gas. The problem that General Foods had, and why they discontinued it, was two-fold. First, it was a fad product to begin with. Second, it has a very limited shelf life as the gas works it's way into the rest of the candy (and thus the pressure drops) and out of it. They couldn't maintain sufficient control over the distribution and, as a result, a lot of out-of-date candy ended up on the market which led to dissatisfaction on the part of customers which led to the demand for it collapsing. So they sold it off and it is still being made and marketed around the world, including in the U.S..

 

It wasn't taken off the market -- it is still available today. What is in Pop Rocks is pressurized carbon dioxide, nothing more. They basically melt sugar and the other ingredients and then expose it to 600 psi carbon dioxide to entrain gas in the melt. Then they let it cool and high pressure gas becomes trapped in microchambers. When you put it in your mouth the candy dissolves releasing the gas. The problem that General Foods had, and why they discontinued it, was two-fold. First, it was a fad product to begin with. Second, it has a very limited shelf life as the gas works it's way into the rest of the candy (and thus the pressure drops) and out of it. They couldn't maintain sufficient control over the distribution and, as a result, a lot of out-of-date candy ended up on the market which led to dissatisfaction on the part of customers which led to the demand for it collapsing. So they sold it off and it is still being made and marketed around the world, including in the U.S..

Besides, "Mikey" from the Life Cereal commercial died from a pop rocks overdose - I ain't gunna let that happen to my kid.

 

Besides, "Mikey" from the Life Cereal commercial died from a pop rocks overdose - I ain't gunna let that happen to my kid.

Mhhhh... I think it's better to clarify your comment before some naïve soul reads it and walks away with the impression that it's actually true:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp
​

Though the confection had been extensively tested and found safe, the combustive candy still alarmed residents in Seattle. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set up a telephone hotline there to assure anxious parents that the fizzing candy would not cause children to choke.

 

Mhhhh... I think it's better to clarify your comment before some naïve soul reads it and walks away with the impression that it's actually true:

http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/poprocks.asp
​

Though the confection had been extensively tested and found safe, the combustive candy still alarmed residents in Seattle. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set up a telephone hotline there to assure anxious parents that the fizzing candy would not cause children to choke.

You quoted before my emojis were added.

 

Though the confection had been extensively tested and found safe, the combustive candy still alarmed residents in Seattle. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) set up a telephone hotline there to assure anxious parents that the fizzing candy would not cause children to choke.

Yeah, but, hey, that's Seattle....

 

@ WBahn you take things too seriously. In the coming Age of Trump, nothing is serious any more.