Carrageenan no effects on organ pathology, clinical chemistry, hematology, or normal health. Dietary carrageenan had no carcinogenic, genotoxic, developmental, or reproductive effects in laboratory animals, and was found to be safe in one study on human infants. Carrageenan Carrageenans or carrageenins ( , from Irish "", "little rock") are a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweeds. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins. There are three main varieties of carrageenan,
Tyrian purple this ability has sometimes also been historically exploited by local inhabitants in the areas where these snails occur (Some other predatory gastropods, such as some wentletraps in the family Epitoniidae, seem to also produce a similar substance, although this has not been studied or exploited commercially). The dog whelk" Nucella lapillus", from the North Atlantic, can also be used to produce red-purple and violet dyes. The Phoenicians also made an indigo dye, sometimes referred to as "royal blue" or "hyacinth purple", which was made from a closely related species of marine snail. The Phoenicians established an ancillary production facility on