Application of Calcium Carbonate Products

Calcium carbonate has a wide range of applications and is used in many fields of industrial production. This article only introduces its application in food and medicine. Due to its simple structure, stable chemical properties (good safety), and high calcium content (40% calcium content is the highest among all edible calcium compounds. Other calcium compounds, such as calcium citrate, calcium lactate, calcium hydrogen phosphate, etc., have relatively low calcium content due to their large molecular weight).

1. Application of calcium carbonate in the pharmaceutical industry:

1.1 Calcium supplementation: As an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), calcium carbonate plays a dominant role in downstream calcium supplements. Common calcium supplements include: calcium carbonate tablets, calcium carbonate D3 tablets (swallowed or chewed), calcium carbonate D3 granules, calcium carbonate D3 effervescent tablets, calcium carbonate D3 suspension, etc. Calcium carbonate, as a raw material for calcium supplementation, has the highest dosage.

Note: All downstream formulation products can be found on the website of the National Medical Products Administration. The specific retrieval method is to open the website of the National Medical Products Administration, click on domestic drugs in the drug column, and enter the keyword calcium carbonate in the product column.

1.2 Acid resistance: In addition to calcium supplementation, calcium carbonate in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia also has an acid resistance effect. Calcium carbonate can be used as the main component of anti gastric acid preparations.

Note: Chinese Pharmacopoeia 1 is the quality and inspection standard for drugs formulated by our country. The vast majority of drugs are included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and there are also some drugs whose quality standards are not included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and exist as separate national standards (which must be approved by the Pharmacopoeia Committee). Our company's drug registration standards are national trial standards starting with YBH.

1.3 Medicinal excipients: Calcium carbonate can also be used as a medicinal excipient, added to drugs, and generally used as a filler.

Note: The regulations for pharmaceutical preparations require the use of active pharmaceutical ingredients.

2. Application of calcium carbonate in the food industry:

The application of calcium carbonate in the food industry can be used as a food additive, nutritional fortifier, and as a base substance in gum bases (such as gum base or base substance in gum based candies). China has clear regulations on the scope and amount of additives used in the food industry.

2.1 As a food additive, downstream customers must comply with GB2760 "Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (there may be different versions, updated periodically, and the latest version should be referenced when consulting). The relevant content of calcium carbonate is excerpted as follows:

This product can be used in moderation as a leavening agent and flour processing agent according to production needs. （GB2760）

List of food categories with exceptions for the appropriate use of this product according to production needs (GB2760-A3)

This product is allowed to be added to wheat flour, with a maximum usage amount of 0.03g/kg. （GB2760）

This product can be used as a processing aid in the food industry in various food processing processes, and the residual amount does not need to be limited (GB2760).

2.2 Calcium carbonate, as a nutritional fortifier, downstream customers must comply with GB14880 "Standard for the Use of Food Nutritional Fortification Agents" when using it. The relevant content is excerpted as follows:

As a nutritional fortifier, add according to the usage range and dosage in the table below: （GB14880）

2.3 Calcium carbonate is used as a base agent substance in gum bases (gum base agents or base agent substances in gum based candies), and the amount used should be appropriate according to production needs. (GB29987 "Adhesive Base and Its Ingredients").

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3. Application of calcium carbonate particles:

The application of calcium carbonate particles has developed in recent years with the development of the health product industry. To understand the application of calcium carbonate particles, first we need to understand the production process of tablets.

3.1 Production process of tablets: Whether it is pharmaceutical tablets or health product tablets, their processing technology is the same. For example, the production of the popular calcium supplement preparation calcium carbonate D3 tablets in China is as follows:

Calcium carbonate particles

 Calcium carbonate D3 tablets

From the production process of the tablet, it can be seen that the granulation process of calcium carbonate particles belongs to the preceding process of tablet production. Subsequently, it will only be directly compressed into tablets (coated or uncoated) and packaged.

3.2 Due to regulatory requirements, pharmaceutical tablet manufacturers are not allowed to subcontract a part of their production process to suppliers. However, there are no special requirements in health product regulations. Therefore, many health product industries, in order to save costs or meet environmental requirements, directly purchase calcium carbonate granules, and their production lines are relatively simple. Some only require one tablet press to complete the entire production. Due to the strict management of foreign-funded enterprises, the corresponding production costs are high. After reducing the number of processes, their production costs are greatly reduced, which is also the reason why calcium carbonate particles are currently popular.