The very large active surface makes synthetic magnesium silicate useful for a wide variety of applications: purifying adsorbent (polyols, animal and vegetable oils, chromatography,[5] dry cleaning, sugar, resins, odors); filler (rubber, ceramics, paper, glass, refractories); anti-caking agent (salt); catalyst; catalyst carrier; filter medium.
The most common use for Food Grade synthetic magnesium silicate is as an active filter aid for adsorption of color, free fatty acids and other polar compounds from used frying oils.
[8][9] Various national and international regulations allow use of this material as an anti-caking agent in a wide variety of powdered foods.
[10] The SCF noted that “the available data, including a number of short-term studies in two species, appear to substantiate the biological inertness of those compounds”.
The SCF established a group Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) not specified for silicon dioxide and the alkali metal silicates.