Additives in food are as ubiquitous as they are nebulous. In our PrimaFoodie Ingredients Spotlight, we investigate common food additives to discover their origin, use, and purpose. Because just because something is edible doesn’t mean it’s healthy—or necessary.

What is Carrageenan?

Carrageenan is a gelatinous polysaccharide (a long-chain carbohydrate) from the Irish Moss seaweed, which is a red seaweed plant native to the British Isles. Approximately 50 percent of Irish Moss is made of Carrageenan.

There are two types of Carrageenan: food-grade and degraded.

What is the purpose of Carrageenan?

From ice cream to nut milk, carrageenan has long been used in foods as a gelling and thickening agent. Carrageenan is also a popular vegan alternative to gelatin, as well as a common additive to personal care items, medications, supplements, and cosmetics.

Where is Carrageenan found?

Because of its jelly-like texture, carrageen provides cohesiveness, viscosity, and/or thickness to certain formulas and foods. It’s a common additive found in the following items:

Alternative milk
Baby Formula
Ice cream and sorbet
Processed meats
Creamers
Pudding and creamy desserts
Cheese
Packaged soups

Is Carrageenan bad?

Even though Carrageenan has been used in foods for centuries, research over the last two decades points to evidence that the extract may not be the best for us. One study found a direct link between degraded Carrageenan and gastrointestinal ulcers in animals. The scientists behind this study, as well as unrelated researchers, have thus purported that consuming Carrageenan can lead to similar gastrointestinal implications in humans, including digestive inflammation, IBS, and the triggering of colon cancer. Challenging these notions are in-depth studies that claim Carrageenan is of no harm to humans.

Here's the rub: Concerns around Carrageenan initially pointed to the degraded kind, which is not used in foods. But now, more experts are finding that even food-grade Carrageenan may cause inflammation and other health concerns.

The PrimaFoodie Take on Carrageenan

Whenever we do a deep dive into an ingredient, we think of three things: Is this ingredient processed? Does it offer any nutritional value? And is it necessary? When it comes to Carrageenan, it is extracted and processed, it offers zero health benefits, and it isn’t necessary. (For instance, copious alternative milk manufacturers are omitting this ingredient.) Therefore, we avoid it as much as we can.

Further reading: The Primafoodie Ingredient Spotlight on Soy Lecithin.