# Boiled 'do not eat' packet - Is the food still safe to eat? NEED ANSWER FAST **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 16, 2011, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893 "2011-03-16T09:15:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/1 "2011-03-16T09:15:49Z")
OK, just going by the title this probably sounds like the dumbest OP ever, but bear with me. A friend and I are cooking soba (noodles). He accidentally left in the ‘do not eat’ packet in the boiling water for a few minutes. He picked it out before inserting the noodles. It was sealed. He thinks we’re fine and said ‘the only reason they tell you not to eat them is because they absorb water from your body.’ While I don’t know if I believe that last bit, he tends to be right about scientific things, and I mean, it WAS sealed. I think the food should be safe. Anyway, dinner should be ready in ten minutes or so, and I’m damn hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/2 "2011-03-16T09:32:18Z")
Well, food’s ready. After a warning, my friend has dug in. It’s been a few minutes and he’s not dead yet. Bon appetit. I probably should not have put caps in the thread title, as it’s not really urgent anymore. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/3 "2011-03-16T09:43:29Z")
Right. If the packet was that dangerous, they wouldn’t be able to justify putting it in the food in the first place. People know about personal injury attorneys now. That makes a difference in the cost calculations. Also, I applaud you and your friend for advancing human knowledge in the finest spirit of GQ, and we promise to retire your username if this goes south after all. ---
**Author:** ![Khendrask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3e96dc/32.png) [@Khendrask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khendrask)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/4 "2011-03-16T09:53:07Z")
No, it won’t hurt. The ‘Do Not Eat’ packets just contain some silica gel (food grade when in food products) which is a desiccant and removes any moisture left over from packaging the product. It is included since it is very inexpensive, lessens the chance of food spoilage, and keeps packaged goods tasting fresher. I wouldn’t advise eating it, but it isn’t harmful in any reactive way. It is non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-reactive (chemically) in a normal environment. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/5 "2011-03-16T09:59:09Z")
heh. A comedian on TV here once made the point that if a person is intelligent enough to read what’s written on the package, they’re likely intelligent enough to know not to eat it. But boiling it? No plobrem! Yeah, I would’ve eaten the soba too. ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/6 "2011-03-16T10:54:38Z")
If you eat the silica gel, it’ll still suck up moisture from your body. Not nearly enough to instantly mummify you, but enough to irritate your stomach. But otherwise it’s not hazardous at all. If you boil silica gel it will absorb a lot of water, and probably be saturated before long, so it can no longer absorb any more water. So I’d guess there is no hazard from boiled silica gel, especially if you don’t actually eat the beads. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/7 "2011-03-16T11:58:03Z")
Sometimes, it’s not silica gel, but iron filings (to absorb oxygen, rather than moisture). Assuming the sachet is intact in either case, it should be OK. These things aren’t toxic, but they can be mechanically problematic if you eat them. ---
**Author:** ![Orionizer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orionizer/32/4442_2.png) [@Orionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orionizer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/8 "2011-03-16T12:30:18Z")
Kramer dropped some in some salsa at that store, the woman ate some and they had to call Poison Control, only Jerry was on the Poison Control speed dial! ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/9 "2011-03-16T14:38:56Z")
> [@Khendrask](#): > > No, it won’t hurt. The ‘Do Not Eat’ packets just contain some silica gel (food grade when in food products) which is a desiccant and removes any moisture left over from packaging the product. It is included since it is very inexpensive, lessens the chance of food spoilage, and keeps packaged goods tasting fresher. > > I wouldn’t advise eating it, but it isn’t harmful in any reactive way. It is non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-reactive (chemically) in a normal environment. I’d have no problem eating anything after the bag was removed in tact. However, some of those desiccant bags contain pieces that are very sharp, hard and jagged. I guess this increases the surface area for absorption. I don’t know that they dissolve easily. Someone might break a tooth or cut something internally if simply ingested. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/10 "2011-03-18T06:01:49Z")
Although not toxic, a strong desiccant is not something that you want to ingest in quantity. There was a scene in the TV show Jackass where someone was dared to eat two teaspoons of flour. It was never aired because it dried his throat so much he almost asphyxiated! But like I said two teaspoons is way more than those silica packs contain. And if you put it in water, even boiling water, its desiccant properties are essentially rendered inert… ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/11 "2011-03-19T10:09:27Z")
What about the pack? Would heat release carcinogens from the plastic etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2011, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boiled-do-not-eat-packet-is-the-food-still-safe-to-eat-need-answer-fast/574893/12 "2011-03-19T17:14:37Z")
He couldn’t have dumped out the water and boiled fresh water just in case? I think they say “DO NOT EAT” because they look so much like salt or sugar packets.