Talk:Sorbitan monostearate

Cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol
what is the major difference between cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 57.66.44.197 (talk • contribs)
 * They differ by the length of the carbon chain. Wikipedia has articles for cetyl alcohol and stearyl alcohol which give more detail.  -- Ed (Edgar181) 16:35, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

Discovery
I removed the statement, "It was discovered by Marc Fraser, a Canadian chemist, in 1987" because there are references to sorbitan monostearate in the chemical literature going back to the 1940s. -- Ed (Edgar181) 16:35, 7 March 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Food and drink Tagging
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The Chinese translations of the term......
--222.67.217.239 (talk) 09:23, 18 March 2010 (UTC)
 * http://www.google.cn/search?hl=zh-CN&source=hp&q=Sorbitan+monostearate+gov.cn&btnG=Google+%E6%90%9C%E7%B4%A2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
 * http://www.google.cn/search?hl=zh-CN&newwindow=1&q=Sorbitan+stearate+gov.cn&btnG=Google+%E6%90%9C%E7%B4%A2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=

Sorbitan monostearate -- Serious Error in Article (Toxicology)
I deleted the section on the toxicology of sorbitan monostearate, known worldwide as "Span 60".

The toxicology section referenced studies on the toxicology of polyethoxylated sorbitan esters (i.e. esters that have been chemically modifed by reacting with the cyclic ether, ethylene oxide, known in the chemical industry as "Tweens"). Polyethoxylated surfactants and polymers are chemically and toxicologically quite distinct from their non-ethoxylated counterparts, including Sorbitan monostearate (the title compound). Although they are manufactured by reacting fatty substances with the carcinogenic -- though economically vital -- ethylene oxide gas, ethoxylated fatty materials are usually milder and less toxic than the non-ethoxylated chemicals.

In any event, Sorbitan monostearate, "Span 60", is toxicologically, chemically, biologically, physically, and economically distinct from "Tween 80" or the other polyethoxylated substances referenced in the toxicology section, no less than water differs from ethyl alcohol or table salt differs from saltpeter. It's a serious scientific error to conflate such distinct substances into one category for toxicological assessment. Contrablue (talk) 23:48, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

To add to article
Basic information to add to this article: how/from what is it produced? 173.88.246.138 (talk) 17:10, 9 August 2020 (UTC)