If you’ve ever been frustrated by clumping of table salt, spices, sugar, nondairy coffee creamer, or any other powdery or granulated food item, you understand the role played by anti-caking agents and why these would be added to such products. Anti-caking agents prevent lumps from forming (known colloquially as caking) to maintain features such as easy flow or desirable texture in products prone to caking and to improve packaging and transportation of those products.1
Since caking is generally caused by changes in crystalline structure that frequently are related to the presence of moisture; anti-caking agents typically work via moisture absorption or by coating particles to make them repel water.2 Some even absorb oil that could negatively impact preferable aspects of the food item. With these functional ingredients added, foods are able to be stored for much longer and remain dry and flowing.
There are many different anti-caking agents; for the purpose of this article, we will focus on two that are common in food product formulation: silicon dioxide and tricalcium phosphate.
Silicon Dioxide
Silicon dioxide is also known as silica, and has the chemical formula SiO2.3 This compound is naturally existing in nature, including in plants such as green leafy vegetables, beets, brown rice, and alfalfa, as well as geologically in quartz.3,4 Silicon dioxide is used in a dry, fluffy form to coat food item particles to prevent them from becoming moist and caking.5
Silicon dioxide is deemed Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that silicon dioxide make up no more than 2% of a food by weight.4 This is largely due to the fact that health effects of greater amounts of silicon dioxide have not been studied. While the USDA and FDA allow this amount of silicon dioxide and consider it safe, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published concerns about whether it may actually be dangerous to health to include silicon dioxide in food items. The EFSA reports that there may be unsafe nanoparticles within silicon dioxide, and asserts that silicon dioxide has no established acceptable daily intake (ADI) that would lend guidance as to what amount would be safe to include in food items.6 Additionally, research from Purdue University has indicated that silicon dioxide may actually speed degradation of nutrients such as Vitamin C, rather than promote stabilization.7 Therefore, consider the market and potential consumer concerns when making decisions about whether to use silicon dioxide in food formulation.
Tricalcium Phosphate
Tricalcium phosphate is another commonly employed anti-caking agent in food products. With the chemical formula Ca3(PO4)2, this substance serves not only a function role, but also as a nutrient supplement to provide additional dietary calcium and phosphorous to consumers.8 Since it is used as a supplement as well as an anticaking agent, tricalcium phosphate has applications not only in dry, powdered food products, but also in moist or liquid items such as yogurt and infant formula. Further, tricalcium phosphate can be used as an acidity regulator for some food items.8
With regards to safety, the USDA and FDA both recognize tricalcium phosphate as safe, and the EFSA has also signed off on the ingredient. Further, as of 2019, the EFSA has established an ADI for tricalcium phosphate: 40 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight per day.8 Overall, tricalcium phosphate has been found to be safe and is generally noncontroversial as a food additive and supplement.9
Recommended Reading
- Anticaking agent
- Humectants and Anticaking Agents
- Silicon dioxide
- Is Silicon Dioxide Safe?
- Sending Out an SAS: The Latest on Silicon Dioxide
- EFSA raises red flag for silicon dioxide over nanoparticles
- Anticaking ingredients may help degrade, not stabilise, powdered ingredients, suggests research
- What is Tricalcium Phosphate E341(iii) in Food: Uses, Safety, Side Effects
- What is Tricalcium Phosphate?
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