Is There Really that much of a Difference in DE Products?
Anyone who lumps all Diatomaceous Earth types together
without talking about the differences in crystalline and non-crystalline
silica is not only doing you a disservice, but also has not done their
homework. Because diatoms form in any water and sometimes even on land,
their diversity is unmatched. Due to this, one can find himself or herself
using a low quality DE or one that can be very harmful to their animals.
Because of water currents, most deposits of diatoms can be very impure, some
even dangerous. There are over 25,000 varieties of diatoms, having different
sizes and shapes. The mineral content of the deposits vary a great deal, as
water currents mix all kinds of foreign materials.
The filtration DE used
for pools or other water filtration is a larger mill and is crystalline
silica which can cause lung and gut problems or death. It has been heated
and the silica becomes a solid.
Food Grade DE used as a feed additive is
amorphous silica that is an important trace mineral and is safe. In the
shape of a cylinder with tiny holes, it is absorbent. Hardness is
also a concern because many if not most DE deposits are inferior. Many are
softer and therefore won’t be nearly as effective.
Perma-Guard DE has a
hardness factor of 7 on a scale that puts a diamond at a 9. This hardness
factor and shape of this particular diatom gives it the quality that allows
it to be used for many purposes. West of the Mississippi, there are over 600
deposits of DE -- the vast majorities are useless. In fact, Perma-Guard only
knows of four deposits that meet the FDA requirements to be called "Food
Grade." So even if it says "Food Grade" on the package, that doesn’t mean it
is the highest quality. In fact, most are inferior due mostly to impurities
or hardness.
International Agricultural Laboratories, Inc physicist, Carey Reams says
in summary, "All of the elements in Perma-Guard DE are so enjoined into
either a cheated or colloidal form until they appear to work in unison
with each other rather than as individual elements. Thinking of them as
individual elements is quite misleading. None of these elements found in
Basic Perma-Guard are considered poisonous."