Deb from Pacifica, Ca writes
I've gone over your labels and stuff and it seems to have a lot of confusing information. I've only heard references to "food grade" and "Pool" DE. Can you provide information describing how and why some DE gets labeled as Insecticide Grade rather than Food Grade. The Pool Grade stuff I'm told has been specially processed which makes it toxic, is this product similarly processed to the pool grade?
The insecticide grade DE is manufactured using a special process and is usually from different mines than food or other grades of diatomaceous earth. Food grade DE will come from specific mines that do not contain elements such as arsenic and quartz, so it is essentially the "purest" form of diatomaceous earth. Some insecticide DE products will be from food grade mines, although you should not assume this is true with all DE products.
Answer last updated on: 07/11/2012
