Magnesium Chloride

(in 4,957 products)

1. Binder / Stabilizer - Retains the physical characteristics of food/cosmetics and ensure the mixture remains in an even state.

Magnesium chloride is highly soluble in water. The hydrated magnesium chloride can be extracted from brine or sea water while the anhydrous magnesium chloride is the principal precursor to magnesium metal, which is produced on a large scale. Hydrated magnesium chloride is the form most readily available.

Magnesium chloride (E number 511) is an important coagulant used in the preparation of tofu from soy milk. In Japan it is sold as nigari (にがり, derived from the Japanese word for "bitter"), a white powder produced from seawater after the sodium chloride has been removed, and the water evaporated. In China, it is called lushui (卤水). Nigari or lushui consists mostly of magnesium chloride, with some magnesium sulfate and other trace elements. It is also an ingredient in baby formula milk.

Magnesium chloride can be effectively used as a substitute for magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) to help correct magnesium deficiency in plants via foliar feeding. It is also used in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical preparations; for dust control, soil stabilization and wind erosion mitigation and for low-temperature de-icing of highways, sidewalks, and parking lots.

It is approved to use as food additive in EU and generally recognized as safe food substance in US.

1. PubChem: https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/5360315

1. EU Approved Food Additive [2018]

- E511

2. Japan’s List of Designated Food Additives under Article 10 of the Food Sanitation Act

- Magnesium Chloride

3. Canada List of Permitted Food Additives

- List 8 - Magnesium Chloride

4. US FDA Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) Food Substances (21 CFR 184) [2017]

- § 184.1426 - Magnesium chloride