Silica Gel Packets: How Dangerous are these Inserts?

OK, so you just opened your bag of beef jerky that you purchased from the gas station after missing lunch, and while chewing your way through your bag of jerky, you pull out a packet that states, "Do Not Eat." The packet might say "Desiccant" or "Silica Gel" as well. You're really hungry after missing lunch and would eat anything they would throw in that bag of beef jerky> But you wonder, "Why would they put something so bad for you in a bag of food?"

This silica gel packet is found in just about everything you purchase, including dry foods, shoe boxes, electronics, cell phones, camera cases, cat litter, medicine bottles, etc. All silica gel does is absorb moisture. This helps keep your products fresh and free from moisture damage. Luckily Clear (white) Silica Gel is not harmful; it's non-toxic, non-flammable, and made from sodium silicate. Silica Gel is not "gel" at all; it actually is a solid and found in granular or bead form.

If that bag of Beef Jerky didn't fill you up and you were tempted by a bite of this Silica Gel, only to think better of it later, I bet you found yourself quite thirsty. You'd need to drink several glasses of water to help dilute, and most likely you will see no medical health effects. If for some reason you went back and decided to ingest a whole pile of Silica Gel, then I would suggest you get medical advice.

Now for your warning, the above is talking about the clear/white Silica Gel that you will commonly find 99% of the time. There is a product out there that is a Blue "Indicating" Silica Gel. This is Silica Gel that is impregnated with Cobalt Chloride (what makes it blue and indicate). The purposes of impregnating Cobalt Chloride into the Silica Gel is so it can indicate when fully absorbed, it will turn pinkish in color. The problem is Cobalt Chloride has been proven to cause cancer, leave it up to scientists to make a safe product hazardous, and the British Chemical Regulations have required that this Blue Indicating Silica Gel be labeled and disposed of as hazardous material. So if you come across this Blue Indicating Silica Gel in the US simply dispose of immediately. The Desiccant Industry has responded by developing a new Indicating Gel that is just taking market here in the US. More on this new product in a future article.