Can you eat silica crystals

[judydawn]

I am asking this question because I have just finished off some of Tenina's chicken stock powder which was missing the dried mushroom ingredient.  I managed to find some large packets today so blitzed the 40g packet to add to the already blitzed other ingredients.  I noticed some cellophane pieces in amongst the blitzed mushrooms so went through them carefully and removed them all, wondering how the devil I missed a piece of the wrapping when putting the mushrooms into the bowl.

I went on to then blitz some beef stock powder ingredients which I have just finished drying in the oven.  When it came time to open another packet of mushrooms and add it to the bowl, I saw what the problem was - a tiny packet of silica gel nestled amongst the mushrooms.  Yikes, I might have picked out the cellophane but the crystals were all blitzed up with the other ingredients - a huge 520g packet of stock powder now completely useless.

Or is it?  I googled the question and came across this answer.  Would anyone be game to use the stock powder after reading this information.  I don't know if I am  

[maddy]

I'd turf it Judy unfortunately....I have only known it to be toxic.
They use it in kitty litter....what a bummer!

[Halex]

JD, i wouldnt give thm to dh, they might re-act with his meds.

H

[Mama Fergie]

What a waste JD but I would definately bin it   

[EmeraldSue]

I just asked DH who has a chemistry background, and he said that its just like sand. Similar to that article.
I don't think I'd like to eat sand. - it would be gritty.
How awful!

[goldfish]

Judy - I agree with all the above . . .I'd toss it and not look back . . . what a shame!  However, the peace of mind that comes from not having to wonder about it all the time is well worth the toss I think!

[gertbysea]

Judy I would not worry a jot about it . Take a teaspoon add it to some boiling water and drink it . I doubt you will even notice that small amount in 1/2 a kilo of stock powder. If you feel you can't pop it in the mail to me. I would not hesitate.

Gert

[judydawn]

Thanks girls, I thought as much.  Gretchen, now why did I know you were going to say something different    I already did what you said before I found out what I'd done.  I thought I'd see how my broth tasted and of course it was fine.  If I am missing tomorrow you will know why 

[CreamPuff63]

Do you think it will extend the stocks expiry date - or yours 

[goldfish]

    better get a good stock of moisturiser at least, JD . .  .that stuff will keep you high and dry for a long time . . .

[gertbysea]

You will be fine. If you had not seen the cellophane you would not have known.  You sometimes see the gel as blue just for this reason.  In any case  in an adult in that . quantity  Ian positive it won't be a problem. My mother said you have to eat a peck of dirt in your life which is a heck of a lot of dirt.


How was the flavour of your stock?   You could make some more dried  chicken stock and  add it to make a kilo and lessen the impact if you are scared. 

Stick it into the freezer until  you forget about what happened then eat it.

Gert

[Katiej]

Oh Judy you poor thing, it must have been a shock when you worked out what had happened.
I bet you wish you'd never found those dried mushrooms you've been hunting around the shops for.

[cookie1]

I'm not commenting. But I do hope you are still around tomorrow Judy.

[trudy]

What a shame Judy, all that work.  I don't think I would be game to use it but really wouldn't be sure if there would be a problem if you did.  Perhaps you could ring a chemist and ask them what they think.

[judydawn]

I had to rush off and watch the news and BB so now that I have read all the responses again, I'd like to thank everyone again and a special thanks to ES's DH for his knowledgeable input.  It just looked like white rock salt so it has probably been all ground up like the salt was.  I know it's a very small amount for such a large amount of stock powder but I would find it very difficult to use it and not think about it every single time I dipped into the bag even though there is enough evidence to suggest it would not be harmful. I never know what is going to tip DH over the edge and for that reason alone I think I will send it to food heaven.

For the time being I will revert to some bought chicken stock powder as I don't think I could spend the amount of time needed to make another batch.  Thank goodness my beef stock powder is untained as that took me 7.5 hours to make today - I sometimes wonder why there are not enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do so maybe I shouldn't even be trying to do so many things in the first place. 

I will be here tomorrow, it would take more than 1/2 cup of broth to kill this old bird     Thanks for lending an ear to my problem, I was amazed at how calm I was when I discovered my mistake.  All I said was damn