Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Ester of Wood Rosin

You've got no idea where I could possibly be going, do you? Well let's just see...


So I'm hanging at the hospital with my peeps, Manda and Mr. A, and we're shooting the shit talking about all manner of things because Manda's got some time to kill while she marshals the forces and kicks the CRAP out of the bad blood. And I'm nothing if not good for some shit shooting.


So we've covered the decline of home improvement cable shows, we've discussed some books, we've determined that the male nurse does not look like Greg Kinnear's twin, I've explained how cycling accidents in Sweden can have massive repercussions, and of course, the topic turns to ester of wood rosin.


O.K., I can't remember exactly how it came up, but I managed to find a segue to one of my favorite bits of useless knowledge.


[Digression: I read labels. I think it has a lot to do with spending a lot of time in Canada and reading the french descriptions on everything. In fact, somebody whispering "de blé entier" in my ear would make me hot. I think. Seriously, somebody can try that.]


Anyhoo, one of my favourite Canadian treats was a pop (soda for you southerners) called Tahiti Treat. Yum -- no redeeming qualities whatsoever, but tasted like a fizzy Hawaiian Punch. And Hawaiian Punch was not something my mum served. Kool-Aid occasionally, but not Hawaiian Punch.


[Again with the digression: Before you go correcting me, it was Tahiti Treat in Canada and Tahitian Treat in the US.]


One of the ingredients in Tahiti (and Tahitian) Treat is Ester of Wood Rosin. I know! How cool is that? I've never bothered to look it up, but heck, it is certainly that Little Something Extra,
right?


Well, I vowed to finally look up the properties of that magical additive because if I'm going to throw it into the conversation, I better be able to elaborate. The short answer is


Glycerol esters of resin acids of wood rosins used as food additives in beverages and chewing gum are those prepared from wood rosin that is harvested from the stumps of the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and purified to a beverage-grade ester gum.



The long answer had to do with studies by the World Health Organization that involved "fecal excretions by rats of unlabelled glycerol ester of wood rosin." Better off not knowing, I say, but undoubtedly, it is probably a good thing that I don't drink the stuff any more.


I'm pretty sure I've seen it in other drinks though. I'm just saying.


Tell all your single friends, some people will drink anything.


XO, JamieSmitten




14 comments:

wombat said...

dude we were ADDICTED to that stuff when i was ordering the cokes at the cool office with the cows in the backyard. but i swear to you it made me high. i couldn't drink more than one, but others were virtually shooting it like heroin, they couldn't get enough. i had to order more! i always put it down to the wood rosin.

Anonymous said...

I think I've now been cured of my gum swallowing habit. Icky poo.

Anonymous said...

Guess what. It's also in Gatorade. Wonder how long those rats lived anyway. Ah, well . . . only the brave.

Anonymous said...

Jamie,

Your research was not complete. But you hit on a fact, that not many consumers even look at drink and food labels.
So what is Glycerol Ester of Wood Rosin,
( C20 H30 O2 ) it is a Chemical solid, developed to remove Arsinic and Lead, during the processing of Pulp Paper/Kraft paper, making. The Arsinic and Lead are removed by a Steaming/distillation and condensation of a toxic liquid, to a usable chemical liquid. The amount made is to large to store, and to costly to dispose of. The Chemical scientists found it could be used in citrus drinks as an emulsifier of acids in the drink (s) Now sold at a profit, instead of a loss, in disposal of a toxin, the theory being, human physiology, can dispose of it cheaper.
Now if there is a toxic spill, someplace the companies are not liable, because you already have toxins in your system, for your store bought pop/sport drinks.

What is the precedence of toxin use for and by mankind, for only one thing, Profit in making illness, and Profit to make you better, if you live that long. It's the 'good' toxin Fluoride/fluorine, now dripping into water supplies, around the world. A Toxin is a poison, that if made sweet enough, even a dog would lick it up off the street. And even fluoride is a by-product, to costly to dispose of, but with High power PR, it was and is sold to any buyer in the name of human health and wellbeing.

Let the consumer beware ! Even bottled water is not safe anymore. Do the research, and take action now.

Anonymous said...

It is amazing to me how some people can write such rubbish while pretending to understand a particular topic.

Wood rosin is simply the rosin (abietic acid - basically pine sap) extracted from the stumps of pine trees. Rosin can also be obtained the same way they get maple syrup from maple trees. The nonsense about the Kraft paper process has to do with tall oil rosin. No tall oil rosin is used in foods. The refining is not to remove toxins; it is used to remove dark tar-like substances, color, fatty acid, and odor. It goes into things like adhesives. The bit about lead and arsenic is a fabrication.

The glycerol ester of wood rosin is made by simply reacting straight wood rosin with glycerine. Both are food grade reagents. They are tested regularly for contaminants, like heavy metals. The process is quite hot - 280C. The product is quickly cooled and placed directly in sealed bags. I would like to see a rat stick his butt on 280C molten resin to leave a present.

A very small amount of rosin ester is added to soft drinks as a weighting agent. You will see it mostly in orange soda. It keeps the density correct so that the orange oil doesn't sink to the bottom of the bottle.

A lot more of the the rosin esters go into chewing gum. I wonder what kind of panic we can stir up over that.

I am really disappointed at seeing such blogging about conspiracies and all. Grow up.

Carl

Vicky S said...

Wood Rosin on a label is sometimes how a company hides the fact they are using Aspartame in a sweet food or drink. Wood Rosin and Aspartame both brake down into alcohol(methanol) in your body. This alcohol is the same ingredient in whiskey (moonshine) that causes the whiskey drinker to lose his/her eye sight. You can feel high or drunk from consuming it.

Anonymous said...

The best baked spuds EVER are boiled in this stuff then wrapped in parchment. Just cut through the paper and relish the goodness. Toss the skin/paper portion or use as a chili bowl...
p.s. Anyone w/ access to a small portion of rosin (50-100 lbs) could certainly sell it to me, I cannot seem to find less than a ton. goape@netzero.com

emily paige said...

The mention of rats actually refers to a study that was done in which rats were fed ester of wood rosin, and then their feces were tested to determine hydrolysis of said ester gum. Definitely no rat feces in this substance.

Anonymous said...

Carl (Anonymous) is wrong.

maybe they used to make wood rosin the way he describes, BUT, they it is also produced from pulp paper/Kraft paper making as the previous comment decribes. initially, the process yields what is known as Tall Oil Rosin, which is sold as a precursor to making Ester Of Wood Rosin.

The FDA has amended the regulations to allow Glycerol Ester Of Tall Oil Rosin as a food additive. This is at the request of GeorgiaPacific Resins, Inc. (GeorgiaPacific is a pulp and paper company.)

http://www.thefederalregister.com/d.p/2007-08-22-E7-16558

Glycerol Ester Of Tall Oil Rosin has not been approved for use in food in Europe.

http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2141.htm

Apparently Carl is the one "pretending to understand a certain topic." Either that or he hustles pulp rosin for a living.

--don't believe the hype

jacinda said...

So now I'm still confused after reading the comments and your post. I seriously was just drinking this drink that had it in it and couldn't even finish it.

Unknown said...

Jamie..I totally agree with you... I've done the research and have been for many years, it was quite humorous to read Mr or Mrs anonymous post before yours... small minded people can't see past what they've been taught their while lives... and I am by no means being disrespectful or trying to bad mouth anyone, it's not their fault they can't see what is really going on right in front of them... there's plenty I don't know I almost kinda wish I didn't know as much as I do now but I'll be better prepared for when things get real messy in the near future rather than poisoned intentionally thru the things we eat/ drink daily...I could go on and on but you get the point...

Anonymous said...

Nothing is safe just gotta try your best to avoid the more deadly products out there. So much genetic reconstruction and modification that who knows, if Any American foods/drinks are safe. The whole world wants to destroy us, even us.

Anonymous said...

It's illegal not to note on the label that the product contains aspartame - at least it is here in the UK.

Aspartame contains phenylalanine which is lethal to PKU sufferers and so any product containing aspartame must also have noted on the label "contains a source of phenylalanine".

Anonymous said...

Carl's right. The poster who contradicted him is ignorant and insulting. I don't sell this stuff. It's just a completely plant-based product that is used to emulsify (mix) oil and water in liquids. Tall oil is something COMPLETELY different.