Calcium silicate is the additive the food industry lists as E552. In our table it is moderate risk: it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: 'The safety of calcium silicate (E 552), magnesium silicate, magnesium trisilicate and talc when used as food additives cannot be assessed'; the 1991 group ADI is obsolete; reliable subchronic, chronic, carcinogenicity and reproductive data are lacking; silicon accumulation in kidney and liver reported in rats; no genotoxicity or developmental-toxicity indication (EFSA Journal 2018;16(8):5375, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5375, Re-evaluation of calcium silicate (E 552), magnesium silicate (E 553a(i)), magnesium trisilicate (E 553a(ii)) and talc (E 553b))
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. None of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts list it. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 2 citations from EFSA and the FDA, each one below.
What Calcium silicate does to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Calcium silicate takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100). Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
-
EFSA
Journal 2018;16(8):5375 — doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5375, Re-evaluation of calcium silicate (E 552), magnesium silicate (E 553a(i)), magnesium trisilicate (E 553a(ii)) and talc (E 553b)
'The safety of calcium silicate (E 552), magnesium silicate, magnesium trisilicate and talc when used as food additives cannot be assessed'; the 1991 group ADI is obsolete; reliable subchronic, chronic, carcinogenicity and reproductive data are lacking; silicon accumulation in kidney and liver reported in rats; no genotoxicity or developmental-toxicity indication. -
FDA
Substances Added to Food inventory — calcium silicate
Permitted US anticaking agent; no US restriction and no FDA re-review flagged.
Why this class
IARC Group 2B; or an EFSA re-evaluation that flagged genotoxicity data gaps, found safety could not be assessed on the available data, or cut the ADI citing child exposure; or an EU harmonised classification of the substance as a reproductive or developmental hazard; or an EU withdrawal of one authorised food use while others remain; or an OEHHA/Proposition 65 listing; or membership of the Southampton-six colourants.
Our confidence in this row's classification is medium. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Is Calcium silicate (E552) safe for kids?
Moderate risk. In Sito it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100). The finding we rely on: 'The safety of calcium silicate (E 552), magnesium silicate, magnesium trisilicate and talc when used as food additives cannot be assessed'; the 1991 group ADI is obsolete; reliable subchronic, chronic, carcinogenicity and reproductive data are lacking; silicon accumulation in kidney and liver reported in rats; no genotoxicity or developmental-toxicity indication (EFSA Journal 2018;16(8):5375, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5375, Re-evaluation of calcium silicate (E 552), magnesium silicate (E 553a(i)), magnesium trisilicate (E 553a(ii)) and talc (E 553b)).
What is E552?
E552 is the E number for Calcium silicate, an additive. Open Food Facts tags it en:e552.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E552 in our table, then the closest additives of the same kind by number.
- Potassium ferrocyanide (E536), no risk identified
- Calcium ferrocyanide (E538), no risk identified
- Silicon dioxide (E551), no risk identified
- Magnesium silicates / talc (E553), moderate risk
- Sodium aluminium silicate (E554), high risk, flagged for young children
- Potassium aluminium silicate (E555), moderate risk, flagged for young children