Silicon Dioxide/Anti-caking ingredients

[Guest guest]

I saw a comment a while ago about silicon dioxide being legal. It's a common

anti-caking agent in spices. I've been avoiding spices because I thought that

anti-caking agents were illegal. If silicon dioxide IS legal, then are things

like garlic salt, with silicon dioxide as an anti-caking agent legal too?

I have garlic salt from pre SCD that lists it's ingredients as " Salt, dehydrated

garlic, and less than 2% silicon dioxide as an anti-caking agent. " Should

something like this be legal? I've seen lots of other spices that list silicon

dioxide too, but never bought or used any of them.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Liz

[Guest guest]

At 12:44 PM 12/3/2009, you wrote:

I saw a comment a while ago

about silicon dioxide being legal. It's a common anti-caking agent in

spices. I've been avoiding spices because I thought that anti-caking

agents were illegal. If silicon dioxide IS legal, then are things like

garlic salt, with silicon dioxide as an anti-caking agent legal

too?

Some companies use sugar or starch in addition to something like silicon

dioxide as anti-caking agents.

In a number of cases, it is a " processing aid " which causes the

problem. Processing aids don't have to be listed on the ingredients

because they're not ingredients. They're processing aids.

I ran into this back around 2002 when I was trying to find a tomato

powder which I could use. (Imagine being able to stir up some tomato

paste by adding tomato powder and water!) I found what looked to be a

legal powder. I wrote the company. They assured me they added nothing to

it but tomatoes. I continued poking around their website. Finally found

the item of concern. " Tomatoes in a food grade matrix.... " I

wrote them and said, " What is this 'food grade matrix'? " And

they wrote back and said, " Oh, it's just a little maltodextrin... it

won't hurt anything... " I wrote them and pointed out that

maltodextrin was on my list of " cannot haves " from my original

letter, and that we would not be doing business.

So far, Penzey's onion powder and garlic powder appears to be SCD legal.

However, my comment about any commercial products still stands: if you

chose to use them, and you do not see the progress you hope for from SCD,

pull them and re-evaluate what you are consuming.

—

Marilyn

New

Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Undiagnosed IBS since 1976, SCD since 2001

Darn Good SCD Cook

No Human Children

Shadow & Sunny Longhair Dachshund