Magnesium phosphates is a chemical compound, the magnesium salts of phosphoric acid.

It appears in the form of a white powder.

What it is used for and where

Food

Ingredient listed in the European food additives list as E343, acidity regulator.

Cosmetics

Anticaking agent. This compound facilitates free flow and prevents aggregation or clumping of substances in a formulation by reducing the tendency of certain particles to stick together.

Bulking agent. It regulates the water content, dilutes other solids, can increase the volume of a product for better flow, acts as a buffer against organic acids, helps to keep the pH of the mixture within a certain level.

Light stabilizer. It prevents light from degrading light-sensitive components and slows down degradation reactions that have already begun. The mechanism is, in a way, similar to antioxidants and the effectiveness depends on the.complexity of the formulation and the density of the product.

Opacifying agent. It is useful into formulations that may be translucent or transparent to make them opaque and less permeable to light.

Safety

The Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings added to Food (FAF) provided a scientific opinion re-evaluating the safety of phosphates (E 338–341, E 343, E 450–452) as food additives. The Panel considered that (1). The Panel considered that phosphates have low acute oral toxicity and there is no concern regarding genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. The Panel calculated a group Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for phosphates expressed as phosphorus of 40 mg/kg body weight (bw) per day and concluded that this ADI is protective for the human population (1).

• Molecular Formula   Mg₃O₈P₂      Mg₃(PO₄)₂
• Molecular Weight      262.86
• CAS 10233-87-1    7757-87-1
• UNII    XMK14ETW2D
• EC Number   231-824-0
• DSSTox ID  DTXSID00872527
• IUPAC  trimagnesium;diphosphate
• InChl=1S/3Mg.2H3O4P/c;;;2*1-5(2,3)4/h;;;2*(H3,1,2,3,4)/q3*+2;;/p-6
• InChl Key      GVALZJMUIHGIMD-UHFFFAOYSA-H
• SMILES  [O-]P(=O)([O-])[O-].[O-]P(=O)([O-])[O-].[Mg+2].[Mg+2].[Mg+2]    

References____________________________________________________________

(1) EFSA Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF); Younes M, Aquilina G, Castle L, Engel KH, Fowler P, Frutos Fernandez MJ, Fürst P, Gürtler R, Husøy T, Mennes W, Moldeus P, Oskarsson A, Shah R, Waalkens-Berendsen I, Wölfle D, Aggett P, Cupisti A, Fortes C, Kuhnle G, Lillegaard IT, Scotter M, Giarola A, Rincon A, Tard A, Gundert-Remy U. Re-evaluation of phosphoric acid-phosphates - di-, tri- and polyphosphates (E 338-341, E 343, E 450-452) as food additives and the safety of proposed extension of use. EFSA J. 2019 Jun 12;17(6):e05674. doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5674.