Carrageenan

[Guest guest]

Below is an extract from this website http://www.edenfoods.com/issues_carrageenan.html

 

I know it is a food producer but the following sounds

about right to me.

There are two types of carrageenan,

undegraded (food-grade) and degraded (hydrolyzed with

acid). Undegraded carrageenan

has been used on a huge scale in food production worldwide since the 1930s, and

its safety has been assured by the FDA Gras status. The Joint Expert Committee

on Food Additives (JECFA) of the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural

Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) gave carrageenan the highest ADI (Accepted Daily Intake) status

of ‘not specified’. Since it’s considered non-toxic the JECFA

deemed it unnecessary to express the ADI in numerical form. Chemically treated,

degraded carrageenan however, is a known carcinogen

(cancer causing agent) and is not used or permitted in food production, but is

frequently used to experimentally induce intestinal inflammation in animal

studies.

 

[Guest guest]

At 08:57 PM 5/26/05 -0400, Sue in NJ wrote:

>> That's because Silk adds carrageenan to its soymilk.

>>

>> Some people prefer to avoid carrageenan.

>

>What's wrong with carrageenan?

 

It causes digestive distress for some people.

 

>http://home.howstuffworks.com/question315.htm

> " Carrageenan, by the way, is a seaweed extract. This particular type of

>seaweed is common in the Atlantic Ocean near Britain, Continental Europe and

>North America. You boil the seaweed to extract the carrageenan. In that

>sense, carrageenan is completely " natural " -- it's not much different from

>tomato paste in its creation. "

 

There are many ways to make carrageenan. Many reputable companies make

carrageenan:

 

" Carrageenan is extracted from the seaweed by alkali treatment at high

temperature. The extract is then purified and converted into powder. This

is done either by the gel-press, KCl-freezing, KCl-press, or alcohol

precipitation method. "

http://www.marcel.com.ph/html/production.htm

 

This page has more details about the manufacture of carrageenan:

http://www.cybercolloids.net/library/carrageenan/production.php

 

To quote another page:

" Carrageenan is about as wholesome as monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is

extracted from rice, and can equally be considered natural. Aspartame

(NutraPoison) is also natural, as it is extracted from decayed plant matter

that has been underground for millions of years (oil). So too are many

other substances such as carrageenan that can also be classified by FDA and

USDA as wholesome and natural food additives.

 

" Just because something comes from a natural source does not mean that it

is safe. The small black dots in the eyes of potatoes contain substances

that are instantly fatal if eaten. Got poison? You will if you eat the

black dots on the " eyes " of potatoes.

 

" Carrageenan is a gel. It coats the insides of a stomach, like gooey honey

or massage oil. Digestive problems often ensue. Quite often, soy eaters or

soymilk drinkers react negatively to carrageenen, and blame their

discomforting stomachaches on the soy. "

http://www.thehealthcrusader.com/pgs/excalibur/article_2004_04_15_2957.shtml

(also available at http://www.notmilk.com/carrageenan.html )

 

Carrageenan doesn't cause me huge distress - it makes me mildly nauseous

and gassy. But after I read how it was produced and what it is, I avoid it

and advise anyone else who feels any gastric distress after eating foods

with carrageenan to avoid it as well (those with " cast-iron stomachs " have

the luxury of deciding whether they feel comfortable with it or wish to

avoid it on principle.)

 

Sparrow