What are those water absorption things in pill bottles called and how poisonous are they?!
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.
Silica gel can adsorb about 40 percent of its weight in moisture and can take the relative humidity in a closed container down to about 40 percent. Once saturated, you can drive the moisture off and reuse silica gel by heating it above 300 degrees F (150 C).
Answers: Little packets of silica gel are found in all sorts of products because silica gel is a desiccant -- it adsorbs and holds water vapor. In leather products and foods like pepperoni, the lack of moisture can limit the growth of mold and reduce spoilage. In electronics it prevents condensation, which might damage the electronics. If a bottle of vitamins contained any moisture vapor and were cooled rapidly, the condensing moisture would ruin the pills. You will find little silica gel packets in anything that would be affected by excess moisture or condensation.
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.
Silica gel can adsorb about 40 percent of its weight in moisture and can take the relative humidity in a closed container down to about 40 percent. Once saturated, you can drive the moisture off and reuse silica gel by heating it above 300 degrees F (150 C).
They are called desiccants. I included a link below that has info on them.
I asked the same question to my mother, because they're in packs of beef jerky. I'm always like .. "What the .. What is this? I'll never find out!"
So, I asked. Mom said it holds moisture longer into whatever sealed product is inside the packaging with it. I don't know how that little packet can do much, but it does.
It always says, "DO NOT EAT!" on the side of the pack .. But, this is what Wiki said ..
"If consumed, the pure silica gel is unlikely to cause acute or chronic illness, but would be problematic nonetheless. However, some packaged desiccants may include fungicide and/or pesticide poisons."
ADD: Oh, Marilyn B, I cited your link for you as well - it's the second one.