Product Code Database
An anticaking agent is an food additive placed in powdered or granulated materials, such as table salt or confectioneries, to prevent the formation of lumps (caking) and for easing packaging, transport, flowability, and consumption. (2026). 9783527303854 ISBN 9783527303854 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 (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, , cosmetics, and .
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.
Diatomaceous earth, 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.
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