Probably because they look like candy, and they're packaged with food a lot?
Even if not packaged with food, these sachects left on the table while unboxing, e.g. a pair of shoes, might entice kids... And it's just easier to print "DO NOT EAT" rather than have separate production lines for "for shoes" and "for food".
Although, from the description, it seems they're perfectly safe (because they're inert) to eat...
I realized this week for the first time exactly why. there was one in my instant ramen along with its other seasoning packets. If not paying attention you could easily be having your noodles with added desiccant flavor.
"Silica gel is irritating to the respiratory tract and may cause irritation of the digestive tract. Dust from the beads may cause irritation to the skin and eyes, so precautions should be taken."
Also from the same page:
"Silica gel, also referred to as silicon dioxide or synthetic amorphous silica (SAS), is listed by the FDA in the United States as generally recognized as safe (GRAS), meaning it can be added to food products without needing approval. Silica is allowed to be added to food in the US at up to 2% as permitted under 21 CFR 172.480. In the EU, it can be in up to 5% concentrations. In 2018, a re-evaluation by the EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Nutrient Sources added to Food found no indications of toxicity even at the highest estimates of exposure level."
"Listed uses include: anticaking agent, defoaming agent, stabilizer, adsorbent, carrier, conditioning agent, chill proofing agent, filter aid, emulsifying agent, viscosity control agent, and anti-settling agent. Silica can be found commonly in foods including baked goods, spices and herbs, dairy products, cocoa products, and more."
Irritation is not toxicity? I guess not, but it seems like irritation should be also be considered when adding it to food. Long term irritation can be a health issue.
In small quantities. As somebody already pointed, your body likes to keep its water inside it, it also doesn't like when stuff carries large quantities of unmixed digestive fluids from one part of your body to another.
They are probably quite harmful if large pieces get eaten in non-small quantities. Or powder in large quantities that are not previously mixed with a liquid. But I don't know of anybody that tested that.
With millions and millions of those things around I’d guess quite a few get ingested accidentally and we don’t hear of them causing problems. It must be pretty safe (well as safe as eating a small amount of sand is).
I'm pretty sure it's just following the rules of the strictest food packaging laws among the places they expect them to end up. In some jurisdictions non-food that is directly inside a package along with food needs to be labeled that way. So they just do em all like that.
It's a choking hazard that is sometimes included in food packaging so it's just to cover the manufacturer since they don't really know what products it may end up in. Silica gel is non-toxic although maybe could cause some issues if you deliberately ate a huge quantity of it.
