Magnesium silicates / talc is the additive the food industry lists as E553. 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The safety of magnesium silicate (E 553a) and talc (E 553b) as food additives cannot be assessed; the 1991 group ADI is obsolete; no oral chronic-toxicity or carcinogenicity data for talc are available; the available data did not raise a concern with respect to genotoxicity of talc used as a food additive; specifications require asbestos-free material. The same data-gap finding shape that carries E 552 and E 141 at this class (EFSA Journal 2018;16(8):5375, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5375)
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 2 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 4 citations from EFSA, IARC and the FDA, each one below.
What Magnesium silicates / talc 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. Magnesium silicates / talc 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.
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EFSA
Journal 2018;16(8):5375 — doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5375
The safety of magnesium silicate (E 553a) and talc (E 553b) as food additives cannot be assessed; the 1991 group ADI is obsolete; no oral chronic-toxicity or carcinogenicity data for talc are available; the available data did not raise a concern with respect to genotoxicity of talc used as a food additive; specifications require asbestos-free material. The same data-gap finding shape that carries E 552 and E 141 at this class. -
IARC
Monographs Volume 136 (meeting 11–18 June 2024; results announced 5 July 2024) — Talc and Acrylonitrile; Stayner et al., Lancet Oncol 2024, 10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00384-X
Talc reclassified from Group 2B to Group 2A, probably carcinogenic to humans. The evidence streams: limited human evidence for ovarian cancer, from perineal body-powder use and occupational (pulp and paper) cohorts; sufficient evidence in experimental animals, from a rat inhalation study; strong mechanistic evidence. No dietary evidence stream was part of the evaluation, so the finding does not establish a dietary exposure route. Applies to talc not containing asbestos. -
EFSA
call for data on talc (E 553b), EFSA-Q-2021-00560 — efsa.europa.eu/en/call/call-data-talc-e-553b (data submission deadline 2027-07-31); amended European Commission mandate of July 2026
EFSA's follow-up risk assessment of talc is ongoing, with a talc-first opinion mandated. The mandate states that oral-route carcinogenicity would need to be addressed if absorption of talc particles cannot be excluded — the EU treats dietary carcinogenicity as an open question, not a finding — and the food authorisation remains in force while the assessment runs. -
FDA
Substances Added to Food inventory — talc; magnesium silicate; FDA expert panel on talc, 2025-05-20 (fda.gov/patients/fda-expert-panels/fda-expert-panel-talc-05202025)
Both remain permitted US anticaking agents. FDA's May 2025 expert panel unanimously recommended removing talc from food and drugs, but no rulemaking has followed as of August 2026, so the US regulatory status is unchanged.
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 Magnesium silicates / talc (E553) 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 magnesium silicate (E 553a) and talc (E 553b) as food additives cannot be assessed; the 1991 group ADI is obsolete; no oral chronic-toxicity or carcinogenicity data for talc are available; the available data did not raise a concern with respect to genotoxicity of talc used as a food additive; specifications require asbestos-free material. The same data-gap finding shape that carries E 552 and E 141 at this class (EFSA Journal 2018;16(8):5375, doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2018.5375).
What is E553?
E553 covers Magnesium silicates / talc as a group, an additive. In our table this row also covers E553b. Open Food Facts tags it en:e553.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E553 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
- Calcium silicate (E552), moderate risk
- Sodium aluminium silicate (E554), high risk, flagged for young children
- Potassium aluminium silicate (E555), moderate risk, flagged for young children