What is Carrageenan?

Carrageenan is a gel substance extracted from algae or red seaweed. It is commonly used as a thickening, suspending, gelling and stabilizing agents for food products and other industrial applications in place of animal-based products like gelatin, which is extracted from animal bones.

Carrageenan is usually derived from red seaweeds, which are abundant and massively produced by seaweed farmers in the Philippines. Different seaweeds produce different Carrageenans. Commercially, there are three main classes of carrageenan namely:

• Kappa: a strong, rigid gels produced from red seaweed specie called Kappaphycus cottonii
• Iota : a soft gels produced from red seaweed specie called Eucheuma spinosum
• Lambda: form gels when mixed with proteins rather than water, used to thicken dairy products.

Technically speaking, Carrageenans are large, highly flexible molecules which curl forming helical structures. This gives them the ability to form a variety of different gels at room temperature. Carrageenan is a collective term for polysaccharides prepared by alkaline extraction (and modification) from red seaweed (Rhodophycae).

What are the uses of Carrageenan?

At present, Carrageenan is being used as in many products like:

• Desserts, ice cream, milk shakes, sweetened condensed milks, sauces — gel to increase viscosity
• Beer — clarifier to remove haze-causing proteins
• Pâtés and processed meat — Substitute fat to increase water retention and increase volume
• Toothpaste — stabilizer to prevent constituents separating
• Fire fighting foam — thickener to cause foam to become sticky
• Shampoo and cosmetic creams — thickener
• Air freshener gels
• Marbling -- the ancient art of paper and fabric marbling uses a carrageenan mixuture to float paints or inks upon; the paper or fabric is then laid on it, absorbing the colors.
• Shoe polish — gel to increase viscosity
• Biotechnology — gel to immobilize cells/enzymes
• Pharmaceuticals — used as an inactive excipient in pills/tablets
• Carrageenan has also been used to thicken skim milk, in an attempt to emulate the consistency of whole milk. This usage did not become popular. It's used in some brands of soy milk
• Diet sodas
• Lambda carrageenan is used in animal models of inflammation used to test analgesics, because dilute carrageenan solution (1-2%) injected subcutaneously causes swelling and pain

How safe is Carrageenan?

Carrageenan has been used by humans as early as 600 BC in China and 400 AD in Ireland. Japan is also among those who pioneered in using Carrageenan as food ingredients. Being organic and derived wholly from red seaweeds, Carrageenan is 100% Natural. In fact, many considered carrageenan as a healthier choice compare to gelatin which is extracted from animal bones.

Just recently, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food has examined Carrageenan in response to issues and claims about its safety as food additives or ingredients. They found no evidence that carrageen is unsafe for human consumption. In support, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Food states that Carrageenan is safe to use in foods.

Compiled by Jun Abines.
Sources: wikipedia.org / wisegeek.com / www.lsbu.ac.uk