{"id":8895,"date":"2018-10-05T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T14:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ulprospector.com\/knowledge\/?p=8895"},"modified":"2024-06-26T09:03:20","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T15:03:20","slug":"fbn-silicon-dioxide-applications-and-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/8895\/fbn-silicon-dioxide-applications-and-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Sending Out an SAS: The Latest on Silicon Dioxide"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Cupcakes
Silicon dioxide is widely used as an anti-caking agent in flour-based baking mixes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Silicon dioxide, also known as synthetic amorphous silica (SAS), is widely used in food products as a thickener, anticaking agent, and carrier for fragrances and flavors.<\/p>\n

Derived from naturally occurring quartz, silicon is the most abundant mineral in the earth\u2019s crust. It\u2019s also naturally found in water and plant-based foods, especially cereals like oats, barley and rice.<\/p>\n

Silicon should not be confused with silicone, a plastic material that contains silicon and other chemicals used to make breast implants, medical tubing and other medical devices.<\/p>\n

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Applications<\/h3>\n

Silicas exist as white, fluffy powders that are produced through a wet process, yielding silica or silica gel, or a thermal route, yielding pyrogenic (fumed) silica.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

In powdered foods, the silica clings to the particles of the foods and prevents them from clumping. This allows powdery products to remain free-flowing, and other products easy to separate.<\/p>\n

Silicon dioxide<\/a> also functions as a defoaming agent, carrier, conditioning agent, chillproofing agent in malt beverages (like beer) and filter aid.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also used to manufacture materials such as adhesives and paper for food-packaging materials.<\/p>\n

As a direct additive, per U.S. FDA regulation, levels of SAS cannot exceed 2% by weight of the food, and as an indirect additive, it can only be used in the amount required to produce the intended functional effect.<\/p>\n

Table 1 FDA clearances for silica substances as direct food additives2<\/sup><\/h5>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
21 CFR Reference<\/strong><\/td>\nDirect Food Additive Clearance<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
73.1<\/td>\nInks for marking fresh fruits and vegetables<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
73.575<\/td>\nTitanium dioxide mixtures for food<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
133.146<\/td>\nAnti-caking in grated cheese<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
160. 105<\/td>\nAnti-caking in dried eggs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
160.185<\/td>\nAnti-caking in dried egg yolks<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
172.230<\/td>\nMicroencapsulation of flavoring substances<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
172.480<\/td>\nPrincipal section, free-flowing and anticaking agent in foods<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
172.510<\/td>\nNatural flavoring substances used in conjunction with flavors<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
173.340<\/td>\nDefoaming agent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
182.90<\/td>\nSubstances migrating to food from paper and paperboard products<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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EFSA suggests re-evaluation of silicon dioxide<\/h3>\n

Silicon dioxide has a long history of use as a food additive\u00a0without any detrimental health effects.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

As a food additive, there is no indication of toxicity of silicon dioxide at its reported uses and use level.<\/p>\n

Despite this, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently urged the European Union (EU) to reevaluate the safety of silicon dioxide (E551) when used as a food additive.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

This is because animal studies have suggested that nano-sized particles can cause inflammatory reactions of the intestinal wall. But it\u2019s unclear if these findings are transferable to humans.3<\/sup><\/p>\n

In their request, EFSA scientists warned that some of the silicon dioxide particles may be smaller than the nano threshold of 100 nm.<\/p>\n

Because there have been no long-term studies looking at the safety of nano silicon dioxide, the EFSA could not confirm its safety and, therefore, characterize it as a food additive.<\/p>\n

The EFSA urged the EU to change current specifications to include particle size distribution. They suggested that the EU use appropriate statistical descriptors such as range, median, and quartiles, as well as the percentage of particles in nanoscale.<\/p>\n

Moreover, while silicon is thought to play a role in bone and collagen formation, a clear function of silicon in humans has not been established and there is no specified acceptable daily intake (ADI) for it.<\/p>\n

In their report, however, the EFSA scientists stated that a chronic toxicity study using \u201can adequately characterized material representative of SAS used as a food additive E 551\u201d would provide appropriate data needed to derive an ADI and the guidelines need for preventing its excess intake over the estimated ADI.<\/p>\n

The bottom line<\/h3>\n

Silicon dioxide has many important applications in the food industry as a food additive. Its functional properties allow for its use as an anticaking agent and carrier.<\/p>\n

Silicon dioxide has a safe track record as a food additive and is considered non-toxic, even at high doses.<\/p>\n

Concerns, however, have been raised over the SAS materials used in toxicology studies, which may not have covered the full-size range of the nanoparticles that could be present in silicon dioxide as a food additive.<\/p>\n

This tasks researchers with evaluating the potential hazards of nano silicon dioxide in human health in order to generate confidence in industry and consumers.<\/p>\n

References<\/h3>\n
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  1. Food and Agriculture Organizations of the United Nations and World Health Organization. Silicon Dioxide, Amorphous [PDF<\/a>]. 2017.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. U.S Food and Drug Administration. CFR – Code of Federal Regulations Title 21<\/a>, 2018.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. EFSA ANS Panel. Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of silicon dioxide (E551) as a food additive<\/a>. EFSA Journal\u00a0 2018; 16(1):5088, 70 pp.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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