Amylon Citric Acid for Food Proven Household Product 100 g

Descaling with citric acid
When hard water is heated, calcium deposits - limescale - are deposited on the heating elements of appliances. The calcium deposits are chemically alkaline, so it is sufficient to use an acid to remove the deposits. In practice, however, it is more complicated than that. We need to use a product that is safe for health and will not damage the appliance to be cleaned, i.e. plastics, metals or seals. Food-grade citric acid fits the bill. It works as reliably as vinegar, is also safe for health, but is not as aggressive. Its dilution is about two teaspoons per half litre of water. There can be no objection to its use, as it is also used in commercially available descaling products.

Espressos with a pressure pump (they have a water reservoir without a pressure cap from which they draw water) can only be descaled if this is stated in the instructions for use. In particular, the more expensive models may be equipped with a decalcifier, which would be destroyed by conventional descaling. Models without a built-in decalcifier are descaled in a similar way to simple espressos.

Add 1 tablespoon (approx. 20 g) of citric acid to the washing machine for 1 wash cycle to prevent limescale build-up. For very hard water, it is a good idea to pour one cup into the washing machine drum about once a month and let the washing cycle run on empty. When using phosphate-free washing powders, there is no need to decalcify the washing machine.

Characteristics
This is a weak acid from the carboxylic group. It occurs naturally in citrus fruits, especially lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges and to a lesser extent in other fruits and vegetables.

Production
There are several methods of production. Naturally, citric acid can be obtained from citrus juice by fermenting raw sugar. Conventional industrial production, however, uses the fungal culture Aspergillus niger and sucrose (mainly molasses, hydrolysed corn starch, or other cheaply obtained sugars). The addition of calcium hydroxide (known as slaked lime) produces a salt from which sulphuric acid yields the final citric acid. Annual global production is estimated at 1.7 million tonnes, of which more than half is produced in China.

crystalline citric acid (E 330).
Allergy information: the product may contain traces of gluten, milk and egg.

Side effects:
In general, citric acid is considered a safe substance and can be added in necessary amounts to all foods, including baby food. In the U.S., it is listed as a GRAS substance. Excessive consumption of citric acid can cause damage to tooth enamel. For example, consuming lemons alone. Like all acids, it causes an irritant reaction on contact with the eye, and in higher concentrations and amounts can cause blindness. However, the amount in food is far below this limit.

Additional information:
Thanks to alarmist chain emails, citric acid has been attributed with many bad properties, especially carcinogenicity. Indeed, this is a misinformation that was created by a mistranslation of the word Krebs. This word in German really means cancer, but in connection with citric acid it refers to the scientist Hans Krebs, who won the Nobel Prize in 1953 for discovering the so-called Citrate Cycle, sometimes called the Krebs Cycle.