Anti-Caking Agents Added To Powders Hasten Degradation Of Vitamin C

Anti-caking compounds added to powdered products to protect vitamin C from moisture accomplish the opposite: they seem to speed up the nutrient’s degradation. Purdue University scientists studying the dissolving effect of humidity on crystalline solids – a reaction known as deliquescence – tested different anti-caking compounds mixed with sodium ascorbate, a common form of vitamin C that normally dissolves when humidity levels reach 86 percent. They found that the anti-caking agents caused the vitamin C to dissolve at lower humidity levels. When vitamin C dissolves, it loses its nutritional value. “No anti-caking agent improved the chemical stability of the vitamin, and most caused an increase in chemical degradation even if physical stability was improved,” the researchers wrote.