Subject: Salt & Vinegar potato chips -- curious ingredient
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking

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From: pjustus at arn.net (Perry Justus)
Date: 25 Apr 2004 22:08:54 -0700
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I got a bag of Uncle Ray's Sea Salt & Vinegar potato chips and I noticed an ingredient on the label that caught my eye - silica gel. Is this something I should be worried about, or what? There wasn't a packet of silica gel in the bag or anything, like potato chips used to have (apparently; it is before my time). It's just something that's been bugging me, because I love those chips but I don't want to be poisoned. ;-)

Thanks,
Perry

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From: Levelwave© (~last_exit at utc.edu)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 01:18:51 -0400
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Silica gel is nearly harmless, which is why you find it in food products. Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), is the same material found in quartz. The gel form contains millions of tiny pores that can adsorb and hold moisture. Silica gel is essentially porous sand.

~john

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From: Michael (dognospam at adjfkdla;not)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 11:58:47 -0000
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Levelwave© seeing her/his name in stars wrote:
> Silica gel is nearly harmless, which is why you find it in food
> products. Silica, or silicon dioxide (SiO2), is the same material found
> in quartz. The gel form contains millions of tiny pores that can adsorb
> and hold moisture. Silica gel is essentially porous sand.

LOL... I made a huge joke on a private listserv group years ago. The do not eat packets that come in shoe boxes. I told one poster the packet had to be eaten or the shoes would die.

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From: Emily Quesenberry (equesenb at vt.edu)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 02:06:58 -0400
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I hope not because I just ate a handful of the new pringles salt and vinegar chips.......tasty stuff!!!