The 61st Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives specification for talc (INS 553(iii)) defines it as powdered, natural, hydrated magnesium silicate with varying proportions of alpha-quartz, calcite, chlorite, dolomite, magnesite, and phlogopite. Its functional uses are food uses: anticaking agent, filtering aid, coating agent, surface-finishing agent, texturizing agent, and chewing-gum base component.
Key numbers
| Purity item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Lead | not more than 2 mg/kg, by an atomic absorption technique appropriate to the level |
| Asbestos | free from asbestos, by infrared or X-ray diffraction screening for amphiboles and serpentines, confirmed by optical microscopy |
| Loss on drying | not more than 0.5% (105 °C, 1 h) |
| Loss on ignition | not more than 9% |
| Water-soluble substances | not more than 0.2% |
| Acid-soluble substances | not more than 2.5% |
No arsenic, cadmium, or mercury specification is listed.
Scope and basis
This is a specification for food-grade talc as an ingredient. It does not apply to cosmetic or pharmaceutical talc, and it sets no finished-product limit. The lead figure is per mass of talc, determined after sample preparation under the JECFA Volume 4 instrumental methods.
Evidence fitness
The page supports the international food-additive purity bar for lead in talc. The regulatory limits register records it as a food-additive specification for oral use, excluded from any topical-product limit comparison. The monograph is also contained in the combined JECFA compendium already in the corpus.
Related evidence
- Baby Talcum Powder
- Dusting/talc powders (adult)
- Combined Compendium of Food Additive Specifications: All Specifications Monographs from the 1st to the 65th Meeting (1956-2005)
- Lead
Update history
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