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Im watching some show on the Food Channel. They are showing junk food factories. Its kinda cool. Pringles cans have the air removed and are filled with nitrogen to prolong freshness. The Mountain Dew factory has a machine that can date code 2600 cans of soda a minute.

I remember reading something about how some companies are considering packing their chips with argon...

Exonerate wrote:I remember reading something about how some companies are considering packing their chips with argon...

I wonder if the public would care, assuming they knew.

TrailerParkJawa wrote:

Exonerate wrote:I remember reading something about how some companies are considering packing their chips with argon...

I wonder if the public would care, assuming they knew.

They'd only object if they saw someone else object to it first....

They probably would thinking since it's something they don't know about it must be really harmful for them.

I dont see how they could object, both are inert and harmless gases, using them just prevents mold or other aerobic processes from degrading the product.

Exonerate wrote:I remember reading something about how some companies are considering packing their chips with argon...

This begs the question: Why??

To keep the chips fresher and crunchier longer.

Argon is a Noble Gas. In other words, it doesn't react readily with other elements. This would, in turn, keep the chips from reacting with oxygen and air and becoming stale. Argon isn't a poisonous gas (unless concentrated and breathed in those concentrations), iirc, so I would see no problem with it, sounds like a good idea to me.

IIRC, Argon is more expensive than Nitrogen.

But Nitrogen is somewhat reactive, iirc.

Nathan F wrote:But Nitrogen is somewhat reactive, iirc.

On its own , its completley inert, your currently sitting in a massive cloud of it in fact, only 19% of Earths atmosphere is Oxygen the rest is Nitrogen(80%) and other miscellaneous gases(about 1%).

Now add add an oxidizer to it and then it goes to hell in a hand basket and becomes insanly volitile.(IIR my HS Chemistry .....)

Sokar wrote:

Nathan F wrote:But Nitrogen is somewhat reactive, iirc.

On its own , its completley inert, your currently sitting in a massive cloud of it in fact, only 19% of Earths atmosphere is Oxygen the rest is Nitrogen(80%) and other miscellaneous gases(about 1%).

Yes, I am aware that the vast majority of air is Nitrogen

Now add add an oxidizer to it and then it goes to hell in a hand basket and becomes insanly volitile.(IIR my HS Chemistry .....)

Yep, IIRC that is right. But I was also thinking that on it's own in it's pure gaseous form it was still pretty reactive, at least moreso than the noble gases.

Beowulf wrote:IIRC, Argon is more expensive than Nitrogen.

Which is why I asked 'why'. I wasn't asking out of consumer safety, the company doesn't care about that as long as it still sells.

Its cool Nathan, I wasn't meaning to sound condescending there.

Nitrogen has the potential to be more volitile, when combined with the right oxidizers and other assorted chemicals. Gases like Neon, Xenon, and Argon ect , try all you want they wont really do a damn thing other than be neon, xenon and argon.

So I do concede that Nitrogen can be more volitile, but its volitility isn't found in natural processes unlike say hydrogen gas which combusts so easily and spectacularly.

DPDarkPrimus wrote: Which is why I asked 'why'. I wasn't asking out of consumer safety, the company doesn't care about that as long as it still sells.

As a preservative, oxygen is corrosive and is necessary for the production of molds and bacteria. If you fill the container with Nitrogen or Argon, you halt these processes and give your product a vastly extended shelf life.

Sokar wrote:Its cool Nathan, I wasn't meaning to sound condescending there.

Nitrogen has the potential to be more volitile, when combined with the right oxidizers and other assorted chemicals. Gases like Neon, Xenon, and Argon ect , try all you want they wont really do a damn thing other than be neon, xenon and argon.

So I do concede that Nitrogen can be more volitile, but its volitility isn't found in natural processes unlike say hydrogen gas which combusts so easily and spectacularly.

Eh, no harm done. You didn't come off as condescending, from this end. Just wanting to make sure I had the facts straight is all.

The only harm argon ( or was it Xenon) can do to you is if you breath so much in, it displaces all the oxygen in your lungs till you can't breathe. Of course you have to be a complete idiot to do that.

Speakong as a member of the idiot public I should mention Argon sounds nasty. Sounds like armageddon.

Argon...and I know a number a girls and guys that probably would .

Exonerate wrote:I remember reading something about how some companies are considering packing their chips with argon...

Isn't argon inert and harmless?

I heard Mountain Dew was made from the crushed bones of dead saints, can anyone confirm this?

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I heard Mountain Dew was made from the crushed bones of dead saints, can anyone confirm this?

So that's why it tastes so bad.

EDIT: Far be it from me to be a catholicism expert, but aren't all saints dead by definition? Your rumor is redundant and repetitive.

Robert Treder wrote:

Admiral Valdemar wrote:I heard Mountain Dew was made from the crushed bones of dead saints, can anyone confirm this?

So that's why it tastes so bad.

EDIT: Far be it from me to be a catholicism expert, but aren't all saints dead by definition? Your rumor is redundant and repetitive.

Yep. What? You expected it to be fresh? My, my, how they clouded you poor mind.

His Divine Shadow wrote:
Isn't argon inert and harmless?

Yes. That's why they use it to displace air when welding titanium and a few other things.