Calcium silicate

Calcium silicate is a synthetic inorganic compound produced from calcium oxide and silicon dioxide. In food it functions as an anti-caking agent and carrier, preventing powdered and granular ingredients from absorbing moisture and clumping during storage and handling. It is used in table salt, icing sugar, baking powder, dried creamers, and a range of spice blends and seasoning mixes where free-flowing texture is required.

JECFA evaluated calcium silicate and determined that no numerical ADI was needed, classifying it as "not specified." This designation indicates that, on the basis of available toxicological data, the compound presents no hazard to health at the levels required for its technical function in food, and that setting a numerical upper limit was not considered necessary. The compound is not systemically absorbed in significant quantities and passes through the digestive tract largely intact.

Calcium silicate is approved throughout the EU, in the United States (as GRAS), and in numerous other markets. It is also used industrially as a construction material and insulation product, but food-grade calcium silicate is produced under different specifications. In processed foods it may appear on ingredient lists as calcium silicate or E552, most often in powdered and granular products where consumers would not normally detect its presence. It has no flavour and no nutritional contribution of note; its value is purely functional, extending shelf life and preserving the texture of powdered products.