Method of producing food grade hydrated lime

1. A method for producing high purity, food grade hydrated lime, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a source of raw hydrated lime;

passing the raw hydrated lime through a first classification step which divides the raw hydrated lime into a first fine stream and a first coarse stream having particle sizes in the range from about +10 to 50 mesh;

passing the first coarse stream to a grinder which produces a ground coarse product;

without combining the first fine stream with the first coarse stream or with the ground coarse product, subjecting the first fine stream to a further classification step to produce a very fine product stream and removing the very fine stream to produce a very fine sized product having a particle size of about −325 mesh or below which meets CODEX chemical specifications.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the classification step is accomplished by means of an air classifier.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the raw, hydrated lime feed is prepared by slaking quicklime with water.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the further classification step to which the first fine stream is subject also produces a second coarse stream in addition to the very fine product stream, and wherein the first coarse stream, containing a larger portion of impurities, is added to the second coarse stream to form a less pure product in addition to the very fine sized product which is produced.