An anticaking agent is an

additive Additive may refer to: Mathematics * Additive function, a function in number theory * Additive map, a function that preserves the addition operation * Additive set-functionn see Sigma additivity * Additive category, a preadditive category with f ...

placed in powdered or

granulated Granulation is the process of forming grains or granules from a powdery or solid substance, producing a granular material. It is applied in several technological processes in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Typically, granulation invo ...

materials, such as table salt or confectioneries, to prevent the formation of lumps ( caking) and for easing packaging, transport, flowability, and consumption. Caking mechanisms depend on the nature of the material. Crystalline solids often cake by formation of liquid bridge and subsequent fusion of microcrystals. Amorphous materials can cake by glass transitions and changes in viscosity. Polymorphic phase transitions can also induce caking. Some anticaking agents function by absorbing excess moisture or by coating particles and making them water-repellent.

Calcium silicate Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca2SiO4, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes formulated as 2CaO·SiO2. It is also referred to by the shortened trade name Cal-Sil or Calsil. It occurs naturally as the mineral larnite. ...

(CaSiO₃), a commonly used anti-caking agent, added to e.g. table salt, absorbs both water and oil. Anticaking agents are also used in non-food items such as road salt, fertilisers, cosmetics, and

detergent A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more ...

s. Some studies suggest that anticaking agents may have a negative effect on the nutritional content of food; one such study indicated that most anti-caking agents result in the additional degradation of vitamin C added to food.

Examples

An anticaking agent in salt is denoted in the

ingredient An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial product (business), products contain secret ingredie ...

s, for example, as "anti-caking agent (554)", which is

sodium aluminosilicate Sodium aluminosilicate refers to compounds which contain sodium, aluminium, silicon and oxygen, and which may also contain water. These include synthetic amorphous sodium aluminosilicate, a few naturally occurring minerals and synthetic zeolites. ...

. This product is present in many commercial table salts as well as

dried milk Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

mixes,

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

products,

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

s and spices. In Europe, sodium ferrocyanide (535) and potassium ferrocyanide (536) are more common anticaking agents in table salt. "Natural" anticaking agents used in more expensive table salt include calcium carbonate and

magnesium carbonate Magnesium carbonate, (archaic name magnesia alba), is an inorganic salt that is a colourless or white solid. Several hydrated and basic forms of magnesium carbonate also exist as minerals. Forms The most common magnesium carbonate forms are ...

Diatomaceous earth Diatomaceous earth (), diatomite (), or kieselgur/kieselguhr is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous sedimentary rock that can be crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging from more than 3 μm to le ...

, mostly consisting of silicon dioxide (SiO₂), may also be used as an anticaking agent in animal foods, typically mixed at 2% rate of a product dry weight.

List of anticaking agents

The most widely used anticaking agents include the stearates of calcium and magnesium, silica and various silicates, talc, as well as flour and starch. Ferrocyanides are used for table salt. The following anticaking agents are listed in order by their number in the

Codex Alimentarius The Codex Alimentarius () is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines, and other recommendations published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations relating to food, food production ...

by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN. * 341 tricalcium phosphate * 460(ii) powdered cellulose * 470b magnesium stearate * 500

sodium bicarbonate Sodium bicarbonate (IUPAC name: sodium hydrogencarbonate), commonly known as baking soda or bicarbonate of soda, is a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of a sodium cation ( Na+) and a bicarbonate anion ( HCO3−) ...

* 535 sodium ferrocyanide * 536 potassium ferrocyanide * 538

calcium ferrocyanide Calcium ferrocyanide is an inorganic compound with the formula Ca2 e(CN)6 It is the Ca2+ salt of e(CN)6sup>4-, ferrocyanide complex ion. A yellow solid, it is used as a precursor to the pigment Prussian blue Prussian blue (also known as Ber ...

* 542 calcium phosphate * 550

sodium silicate Sodium silicate is a generic name for chemical compounds with the formula or ·, such as sodium metasilicate , sodium orthosilicate , and sodium pyrosilicate . The anions are often polymeric. These compounds are generally colorless transparent ...

* 551 silicon dioxide * 552

calcium silicate Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca2SiO4, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes formulated as 2CaO·SiO2. It is also referred to by the shortened trade name Cal-Sil or Calsil. It occurs naturally as the mineral larnite. ...

* 553a

magnesium trisilicate Magnesium trisilicate is an inorganic compound that is used as a food additive. The additive is frequently used by fast food chains to absorb fatty acids and extract impurities formed while frying edible oils. It has good acid neutralizing prop ...

* 553b talcum powder * 554

* 555

potassium aluminium silicate Microcline (KAlSi3O8) is an important igneous rock-forming tectosilicate mineral. It is a potassium-rich alkali feldspar. Microcline typically contains minor amounts of sodium. It is common in granite and pegmatites. Microcline forms during slo ...

* 556

calcium aluminosilicate Calcium aluminosilicate, an aluminosilicate compound with calcium cations, most typically has formula CaAl2Si2O8. In minerals, as a feldspar, it can be found as anorthite, an end-member of the plagioclase series. Uses As a food additive, it is ...

* 558 bentonite * 559

aluminium silicate Aluminium silicate (or aluminum silicate) is a name commonly applied to chemical compounds which are derived from aluminium oxide, Al2O3 and silicon dioxide, SiO2 which may be anhydrous or hydrated, naturally occurring as minerals or synthetic. ...

* 570

stearic acid Stearic acid ( , ) is a saturated fatty acid with an 18-carbon chain. The IUPAC name is octadecanoic acid. It is a waxy solid and its chemical formula is C17H35CO2H. Its name comes from the Greek word στέαρ "''stéar''", which means tallow. ...

* 900 polydimethylsiloxane

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anticaking Agent Food additives