Diatomaceous earth
Diatomaceous earth · Diatomacous silica · DiatomiteCAS 68855-54-9
Diatomaceous earth is the fossil skeletons of diatoms, used as a filter aid — beer, wine, juice and syrups are clarified by passing them through a bed of it. It is filtered out again and is not meant to remain in the food.
Where it is and isn’t permitted
| Jurisdiction | Status | Scope and limits | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia and New Zealand | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Canada | No listing matchedHealth Canada’s lists name additives without E or INS numbers, so this site matches them by exact name. A substance listed there under a name this site does not recognise has no row here. | ||
| European Union | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Great Britain | No listed food uses foundThis site has not matched this substance to any food use on this jurisdiction’s list of authorised food additives. A food additive may be used only in foods that list names. Flavourings, enzymes, processing aids and added nutrients are regulated separately and do not appear on it. | ||
| Japan | No listing matchedThis site imports only Japan’s list of designated additives (Appended Table 1 to the Regulations for Enforcement of the Food Sanitation Act), matched by English name. Existing additives, natural flavouring agents and ordinary foods used as additives are permitted outside that list and are not imported, so an empty row does not show that Japan does not permit the substance. | ||
| South Korea | Permitted, with conditions | Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. …Designated food additive: Standards and Specifications for Food Additives, Part III, 2. 가공보조제 (processing aids), 규조토 (“Diatomaceous Earth”, the English the Code prints beside it). Main use (주용도) of 규조토: 여과보조제. Standard for use (사용기준) of 규조토: (1) [may be used only for the purpose or in the food the sentence states; and a further sentence this site does not describe] “규조토(건조품, 소성품, 융제소성품)는 식품의 제조 또는 가공상 여과보조제(여과, 탈색, 탈취, 정제 등) 목적에 한하여 사용하여야 한다. 다만, 사용 시 최종식품 완성 전에 제거하여야 하며, 식품 중의 잔류량은 0.5%(규조토, 백도토, 벤토나이트, 산성백토, 탤크, 퍼라이트, 활성탄 등 다른 불용성 광물성물질과 병용할 때에는 전 잔류량의 합계가 0.5%)이하이어야 한다.” The Korean is the standard as published. There is no official English translation of the current Code (the English version on MFDS’s website is the 2020 edition and has no legal effect); the English in square brackets is this site’s description of what each sentence does, not a translation of the foods or the levels. Compositional specifications (Part IV) are not imported, nor are the general standards in Part II, which apply to every additive. | Standards and Specifications for Food Additives (식품첨가물의 기준 및 규격), MFDS Notification, Part III (Standards for use, by item)retrieved 2026-10-18 |
| United States | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. | ||
| Codex Alimentarius | Not listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited. |
How much is permitted
A listing usually limits the quantity as well as the food. Only one of the forms that takes is a figure: quantum satis and good manufacturing practice permit the amount the technological effect requires and no more, which is a limit rather than the absence of one. Figures below are the range across every food category this page is listed in, and categories differ between regulators — see how much is permitted.
| South Korea | — | 1 no quantity stated |
|---|
No regulator sets a figure for Diatomaceous earth. That is not an absence of control: where the listing says quantum satis or good manufacturing practice, the quantity is limited to what the effect requires.
What it is made from
Mined and processed as a dried natural powder, or calcined, or flux-calcined, which changes its colour from off-white through pink to white.
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
Compare other additives on the dietary indexes.
- CAS registry number
- 68855-54-9
How JECFA defines it
The international specification for identity and purity, prepared by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and published by FAO. It is a different document from any above, written by a different body and revised on its own cycle; it is advisory, and a country adopts it or does not.
Diatomaceous Earth
Consists of the processed siliceous skeletons of diatoms; produced as a dried, natural powder, as a calcined powder or as a flux-calcined powder.
Synonyms: Diatomaceous silica, Diatomite Diatomacous silica; Diatomite
Assay, identification and purity criteria
Description and assay
- Specification history
- Prepared at the 55th JECFA (2000) and published in FNP 52 Add 8 (2000), superseding tentative specifications prepared at the 21st JECFA (1977) and published in NMRS 57 (1977) and in FNP 52 (1992). No ADI was allocated the 21st JECFA (1977)
- C.A.S. number
- Natural and calcined powder 61790-53-2 Flux-calcined 68855-54-9
- DESCRIPTION
- Dried, natural powder: off-white to light grey. Calcined powder: pink to light brown or light yellow to light orange. Flux-calcined powder: white to pink or light brown.
- FUNCTIONAL USES
- Filtering aid
Identification
- Solubility (Vol. 4)
- Insoluble in water, in acids (except hydrofluoric), and in dilute alkalis
- Microscopy
- When examined with 100x to 200x microscope, typical diatom shapes are observed
- pH (Vol. 4)
- Boil 10 g of sample with 100 ml of water for 1 h and filter through a fine-porosity sintered-glass filter or a suitable filter paper. Dilute filtrate to 100 ml. Natural and calcined powders, pH range: 5 to 10. Flux-calcined powders, pH range: 8 to 11.
- Volatilization
- Place 0.2 g of the sample in a platinum crucible, and add 5 ml of hydrofluoric acid. The sample is dissolved. When the solution is heated (Caution: Use draft oven), almost all of it volatilizes.
Purity criteria
- Loss on drying (Vol. 4)
- Natural powder: Not more than 10% (105 o , 2 h) Calcined and flux-calcined powder: Not more than 3% (105 o , 2 h)
- Loss on ignition (Vol. 4)
- Natural powder: Not more than 7% on the dry basis Calcined and flux-calcined powder: Not more than 2% on the dry basis.
- Hydrofluoric acid-insoluble substances
- Not more than 25% Weigh accurately about 0.2 g of the dried sample in a platinum crucible previously ignited, cooled, and weighed. Add 5 ml of hydrofluoric acid and 2 drops of sulfuric acid (1 in 2), and evaporate gently to approximate dryness on a water bath. Heat at 550 o for 1 h, then raise the temperature gradually until it reaches 1000 o to 1200 o , and keep the temperature for 30 min. The residue does not exceed 50 mg.
- Water-soluble substances
- Not more than 0.5% To 10 g of the dried sample, add 100 ml of water, and boil for 2 h, supplementing water with occasional shaking. Cool, then filter with suction using a filter paper for quantitative analysis. Repeat the filtration using the same filter paper to obtain a clear solution. Wash the residue on filter paper with a small amount of water. Combine washings to filtrate, evaporate the solution to dryness and dry further the residue at 105 o for 2 h. The weight of the residue is not more than 50 mg.
- Hydrochloric acid-soluble substances
- Not more than 2.5% To 2.0 g of the dried sample, add 50 ml of dilute hydrochloric acid TS, and heat at 50 o for 15 min with shaking. Cool and filter, wash filter residue with a small amount of dilute hydrochloric acid TS. Combine washings to filtrate, add 5 ml of dilute sulfuric acid TS, evaporate to dryness, and ignite at 450-550 o to constant weight. The weight of the residue is not more than 50 mg.
- Arsenic (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 10 mg/kg (Method II)
- Lead (Vol. 4)
- Not more than 10 mg/kg Determine using an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the specified level. The selection of sample size and method of sample preparation may be based on the principles of the method described in Volume 4, "Instrumental Methods".
Every name it appears under
3 recorded names. A label may use any of them.
Other names
- Diatomaceous earth
- Diatomacous silica
- Diatomite
Hazard reference values
No reference value for this substance in the sources we hold.
Evidence and how bodies read it
Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.
Common questions
Assembled from what is above, in the words the questions are usually asked in. Each answer is the same statement the relevant section makes, with the same citations behind it.
- What is Diatomaceous earth?
- Diatomaceous earth is the fossil skeletons of diatoms, used as a filter aid — beer, wine, juice and syrups are clarified by passing them through a bed of it. It is filtered out again and is not meant to remain in the food.
- Where is Diatomaceous earth permitted?
- Of the seven regulators this site reads, South Korea permits it. Each permission is for named foods at named levels, not a blanket one; the table on this page gives them with citations.
- Is Diatomaceous earth vegan?
- Yes. Diatomaceous earth is not derived from animals, and is suitable for vegetarians. This page says what it is made from and how.
Sources for this page
- kr retrieved 2026-10-18
- jecfaspecs retrieved 2026-09-23
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