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
powder
A powder is a dry, bulk solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and '' granular'' are sometimes used to distin ...
ed 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
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...
or confectioneries, to prevent the formation of lumps (
caking
Caking is a powder's tendency to form lumps or masses. The formation of lumps interferes with packaging, transport, flowability, and consumption. Usually caking is undesirable, but it is useful when pressing powdered substances into pills or briq ...
) 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 (CaSiO
3), a commonly used anti-caking agent, added to e.g. table salt, absorbs both water and
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
.
Anticaking agents are also used in non-food items such as
road salt
Sodium chloride , commonly known as salt (although sea salt also contains other chemical salts), is an ionic compound with the chemical formula NaCl, representing a 1:1 ratio of sodium and chloride ions. With molar masses of 22.99 and 35.45 g/ ...
,
fertiliser
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
s,
cosmetics
Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protect ...
, and
detergents.
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
Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits and vegetables, also sold as a dietary supplement and as a topical 'serum' ingredient to treat melasma (dark pigment spots) ...
added to food.
Examples
An anticaking agent in salt is denoted in the
ingredients, for example, as "anti-caking agent (554)", which is
sodium aluminosilicate. This product is present in many commercial table salts as well as
dried milk,
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 products,
flours and
spices
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...
. In Europe,
sodium ferrocyanide
Sodium ferrocyanide is the sodium salt of the coordination compound of formula e(CN)6sup>4−. In its hydrous form, Na4Fe(CN)6 ( sodium ferrocyanide decahydrate), it is sometimes known as yellow prussiate of soda. It is a yellow crystalline ...
(535) and
potassium ferrocyanide
Potassium ferrocyanide is the inorganic compound with formula K4 e(CN)6·3H2O. It is the potassium salt of the coordination complex e(CN)6sup>4−. This salt forms lemon-yellow monoclinic crystals.
Synthesis
In 1752, the French chemist Pie ...
(536) are more common anticaking agents in table salt. "Natural" anticaking agents used in more expensive table salt include
calcium carbonate and
magnesium carbonate.
Diatomaceous earth, mostly consisting of
silicon dioxide
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...
(SiO
2), 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
A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers c ...
in the Codex Alimentarius by the Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
of the UN.
* 341 tricalcium phosphate
Tricalcium phosphate (sometimes abbreviated TCP) is a calcium salt of phosphoric acid with the chemical formula Ca3(PO4)2. It is also known as tribasic calcium phosphate and bone phosphate of lime (BPL). It is a white solid of low solubility. Mo ...
* 460(ii) powdered cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell w ...
* 470b magnesium stearate
Magnesium stearate is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a soap, consisting of salt containing two equivalents of stearate (the anion of stearic acid) and one magnesium cation (Mg2+). Magnesium stearate is a white, water-insoluble pow ...
* 500 sodium bicarbonate
* 535 sodium ferrocyanide
Sodium ferrocyanide is the sodium salt of the coordination compound of formula e(CN)6sup>4−. In its hydrous form, Na4Fe(CN)6 ( sodium ferrocyanide decahydrate), it is sometimes known as yellow prussiate of soda. It is a yellow crystalline ...
* 536 potassium ferrocyanide
Potassium ferrocyanide is the inorganic compound with formula K4 e(CN)6·3H2O. It is the potassium salt of the coordination complex e(CN)6sup>4−. This salt forms lemon-yellow monoclinic crystals.
Synthesis
In 1752, the French chemist Pie ...
* 538 calcium ferrocyanide
* 542 calcium phosphate
The term calcium phosphate refers to a family of materials and minerals containing calcium ions (Ca2+) together with inorganic phosphate anions. Some so-called calcium phosphates contain oxide and hydroxide as well. Calcium phosphates are whi ...
* 550 sodium silicate
* 551 silicon dioxide
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...
* 552 calcium silicate
* 553a magnesium trisilicate
* 553b talcum powder
Talc, or talcum, is a clay mineral, composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Talc in powdered form, often combined with corn starch, is used as baby powder. This mineral is used as a thickening agent ...
* 554 sodium aluminosilicate
* 555 potassium aluminium silicate
* 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
Plagioclase is a series of tecto ...
* 558 bentonite
Bentonite () is an absorbent swelling clay consisting mostly of montmorillonite (a type of smectite) which can either be Na-montmorillonite or Ca-montmorillonite. Na-montmorillonite has a considerably greater swelling capacity than Ca-m ...
* 559 aluminium silicate
* 570 stearic acid
* 900 polydimethylsiloxane
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), also known as dimethylpolysiloxane or dimethicone, belongs to a group of polymeric organosilicon compounds that are commonly referred to as silicones. PDMS is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, as its ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anticaking Agent
Food additives