UK-based CalciTech says that CalciSPTM is characterised by its extreme purity, making it an ideal key ingredient for products such as toothpaste, depilatory creams, sunscreen, thickener and face powders.
Jean-Claude Masson, CalciTech's marketing manager for non-paper products, stated, "In our discussions with producers, it has become apparent that regulations have had a strong impact on demand for super pure products."
Calcium carbonate has been primarily developed by the company as a key part of the paper milling process, however, increasingly it is now playing an important part in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food production.
Tested by the Geneva Institute of Technology, the ingredient was shown to have significantly lower levels of magnesium, lead, arsenic, iron and mercury than other leading brands of calcium carbonate.
The tests were carried out recently using both USP25 and California Proposition 65 protocols. In particular California Proposition 65 has become a major driving force for purity improvement in recent years.
Metals are known for their harsh effects on cosmetic formulations, so minimizing their presence is always a key goal in order to ensure efficacy. Further more all of the metals listed are said to have developmental or carcinogenic effects on humans.
The company says the results of the tests show that its newly developed methods of artificially creating calcium carbonate make for a purer, and thus safer product. This means that the product has outstanding processing properties and shows no or little sign of abrasiveness.
Francois Roux, product development director for CalciTech, stated, "The development of CalciSPTM followed naturally from the capabilities of our technology. Unlike other processes, where purity is very much influenced by the quality of the raw material, our process is able to selectively dissolve calcium from raw material, which leads to a higher purity than generally observed in the industry."
"In developing products for non-paper applications, we have focused on the competitive advantages that are derived from our ability to design morphology, particle size and particle size distribution."