Ingredient Information

Function

Calcium carbonate is used in the food industry mainly as an added source of calcium (Calcium enriched foods) especially in soy milk and soy products. Calcium carbonate is used as a food preservative and color retainer in organic fruits and some foods. It is also a stabilizer and is added mainly to dairy products. The uses of calcium carbonate are almost infinite and it can be found in almost all kinds of foods from dried fruits to canned sardines, also in frozen foods, cereals, aromatized beverages and processed meat and fish products.

Other Use and Industries

Calcium carbonate is used for construction as a building material, limestone aggregate and as an ingredient for cement. It’s used to purify Iron and also in the oil industry as an additive to the drilling fluids used to control down pressure. Calcium carbonate is also used as an alkaline agent when is added to swimming pools for Ph correction. In diaper manufacturing, ground calcium carbonate forms part of the microporous film. In the paper industry calcium carbonate has replaced kaolin to produce glossy paper, also is used as a filler and plain paper can contain from 10 to 20 percent of calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is used as a paint extender, especially in paints with a matte emulsion. Traditionally calcium carbonate was the main component in blackboard chalk, but it’s being replaced by gypsum. It has a wide range of uses in chemical manufacturing industries like PVC, abrasives, adhesives and decorating fillers.

In the pharmaceutical industry calcium carbonate is used as a dietary calcium supplement and as a gastric antacid because of its alkaline properties. In patients with Chronic Renal Failure it’s used to treat hyper phosphatemia (high level of phosphorous in the bloodstream) because it chemically binds to phosphates. It’s commonly used as inert filler in tablets and other pharmaceutical preparations. Calcium carbonate is also used for the treatment of Irritable bowel syndrome to reduce diarrhea. This ingredient is also used in the production of toothpaste. Environmentally, calcium carbonate can be used to neutralize the effects of acid rain in river ecosystems. In agriculture it is used to produce agricultural lime that provides minerals for the plants.

Health Effects

Calcium carbonate can be found virtually in every food, which means that people ingest it from many sources, including many multivitamins. When ingested in quantities that overpass the requirements of the human body it can cause hypercalcemia; which means that there is more calcium in our body than the normal clinical standards, hypercalcemia will lead to other conditions such as Milk- Alkali syndrome, renal failure, alkalosis, vomiting, altered mental status and abdominal pain.

In patients with an altered metabolism of minerals the daily intake of calcium carbonate has to be determined by a physician. Calcium carbonate can interact with the absorption of certain medicines. People with kidney failure, history of kidney stones and a parathyroid gland disorder must limit their intake of calcium carbonate unless otherwise prescribed.

Origins

Most calcium carbonate comes from mining or quarrying. Pure calcium carbonate can be extracted directly from a quarried marble source. It can be found in almost all kinds of rocks and it’s the principal component of the shells of marine creatures like snails and also in pearls. Calcium carbonate can be also found in eggshells and can be produced from the calcination of crude calcium oxide.