Is Blue Band a Molecule Away from Plastic?
Blue Band Margarine |
A quick search on the web revealed older videos of the same product in some blogs in Nigeria. Comments were varied and some bordering on hilarious.
This video comes amid other contraband products that have been netted by Kenya Revenue Authority. Some of these products include Fruit Juices, Sugar (allegedly containing high proportions of Mercury and other elements - known not fit for human consumption)
In February 2014, Unilever had posted a position for a spy to help it fights fakes riding on their brands. Demand for security experts is rising in corporate Kenya as companies move to guard their business secrets from aggressive competitors and prevent fraud from eating into their revenues according to the article on Business Daily.
As old as 2009 - news of Blue Band Margarine not melting has appeared on the web - like this post on Wazua Forums
And more recently, the Consumer Protection Council of Nigeria opened an inquiry on the alleged margarine not melting in hot water (Read post here)
Now back to the question - Is Blue Band a Molecule Away from Plastic? - I went to this article on the Huffington Post to understand whether Blue Band is a molecule away from plastic
“Margarine is one molecule away from plastic.”
This is by far one of the more popular myths. Simply put: This is not true. Many substances share similar chemical structures or compositions, but it’s the variations in these structures or ways they are arranged that make a difference in their properties and to the end product. Most types of margarine are blends of vegetable oils, while plastics are usually a polymer (chain of repeating molecules) of ethylene molecules (four hydrogen atoms and two carbon atoms). Even if they were both made from vegetable oil the variation in their chemical structures would result in different end products. So adding another molecule to margarine does not turn it into plastic. The bottom line is that many substances share similar chemical properties but even the smallest variation can set them a world apart in terms of what they are.