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471-34-1
futurechem
471-34-1
project | information |
Chinese name | Calcium carbonate |
English name | Calcium carbonate |
Molecular formula | CaCO₃ |
molecular weight | 100.09 |
CAS number | 471-34-1 |
Naturally existing | Limestone, marble, chalk, calcite, seashells, eggshells, coral |
Appearance | White powder or colorless crystals, odorless and tasteless |
Solubility | It is almost insoluble in water (0.0013 g/100 mL, 25°C), but soluble in dilute acid and produces bubbles (CaCO₃ + 2H⁺ → Ca²⁺ + H₂O + CO₂↑). |
Calcium carbonate is the world's most widely used food calcium fortifier. Its applications are extremely broad:
Food categories | Add purpose | Calcium content reference |
Fortified flour and bread | Daily staple foods for calcium supplementation | Limits specified in GB 14880 |
Infant formula | Essential for infant bone development | Precise control of calcium-phosphorus ratio |
High-calcium soy milk/oat milk | Calcium substitutes for milk | 120 mg/100 mL (equivalent to milk) |
Breakfast cereal | Calcium supplement at breakfast | Each serving can provide 20% to 30% of the daily requirement. |
Calcium tablets and chewable tablets | intensive calcium supplementation | Each tablet contains 500-600 mg CaCO₃ (approximately 200-240 mg Ca). |
Protein powder/meal replacement powder | Comprehensive nutritional fortification | According to formulation requirements |
The disadvantage of calcium carbonate is that it relies on stomach acid to dissolve—when the stomach is empty, insufficient stomach acid secretion reduces its absorption rate. Therefore, calcium supplements are usually recommended to be taken with meals (food stimulates stomach acid secretion and slows gastric emptying, thus prolonging the absorption window for calcium).
The role of calcium carbonate in flour varies from country to country according to regulations.
Effect
● It features a triple function of physical whitening (light scattering), gluten improvement, and calcium nutrition.
Calcium carbonate is added to powdered foods as an anti-caking agent, and its mechanism is similar to that of basic magnesium carbonate—it adsorbs trace amounts of moisture and forms a physical barrier layer on the surface of the particles to prevent them from sticking together.
Commonly found in: powdered sugar, flavoring powder, milk powder, and instant beverage powder.
Calcium carbonate is not used alone as the primary leavening agent in chemical leavening systems (because its CO₂ release depends on strong acids), but it can participate in compounding as an auxiliary alkali source and filler. In self-rising flour, it works in combination with acidic phosphates to provide controlled CO₂ expansion.
The carbonate molecule in calcium carbonate is weakly alkaline—it can neutralize excess acid in foods where a slight adjustment in acidity is needed. For example, calcium carbonate is used to gently reduce acidity in some canned fruits and wines.
The white color of calcium carbonate can be used for food whitening and color protection— as a pigment carrier or white base in certain white sauces, white coatings, and candies . E170 is legally permitted to also function as a pigment.
In the production of organic apples, calcium carbonate is sprayed onto the surface of the fruit to form a white protective film—reflecting sunlight, lowering the fruit temperature, preventing sunburn, and providing a certain physical barrier to reduce pests and diseases.
The gum base of chewing gum is an indigestible elastomer. Calcium carbonate is used as a filler in the gum base.
● Increases the volume of the gum base and provides a fuller feeling when chewing;
● Adjusting the hardness and elasticity of the adhesive base;
● It is completely safe as a calcium salt filler—even if partially swallowed, it will not be absorbed by the digestive tract (it will be excreted in feces or dissolved by stomach acid and absorbed as nutritional calcium).
Winemaking
● Calcium carbonate is used to reduce acidity—neutralizing excess tartaric acid and malic acid. Unlike KHCO₃ and K₂CO₃, the calcium tartrate precipitate produced after CaCO₃ reduces acidity is more stable and easier to filter.
Tofu coagulation
● In some traditional processes, calcium carbonate is used in combination with acidic coagulants.
Calcium carbonate is one of the most "unobtrusive" yet "indispensable" substances in food additives. It does not require chemical synthesis—the limestone mountains on Earth are its natural factories; it does not require toxicological verification—humans have been consuming calcium carbonate-containing shells and eggshells since the Stone Age.
Today, it is embedded in the modern food system in a quiet and profound way:
Scene | What is it doing? |
Calcium tablets | 40% Calcium – The World's Most Economical Way to Supplement Calcium |
stomach medicine | Neutralizes stomach acid in minutes—and gives you calcium too! |
toothpaste | Physical abrasion cleaning of tooth surfaces – gentle polishing twice a day, morning and evening |
flour | Physical whitening + gluten improvement + calcium supplementation from staple food – a three-in-one solution |
Soy milk | Make the calcium content of plant-based milk comparable to that of cow's milk. |
chewing gum | Gel-based filler—a chewy white powder |
wine | Gentle acid reduction – precipitating tartaric acid without introducing sodium or potassium. |
It is the most common mineral on Earth and one of the most versatile additives in the human food system. When you see E170 on the ingredient list—remember, it is not a "chemical," but limestone from geological eras that, after hundreds of millions of years of sedimentation, has returned to your body in the safest way possible.
