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,
Carrageenan There are three types of industrial processing: This is only performed using "E. cottonii" or "E. spinosum". The raw weed is first sorted and crude contaminants are removed by hand. The weed is then washed to remove salt and sand, and then cooked in hot alkali to increase the gel strength. The cooked weed is washed, dried, and milled. "E. spinosum" undergoes a much milder cooking cycle, as it dissolves quite readily. The product is called semi-refined carrageenan, Philippines natural grade, or, in the U.S., it simply falls under the common carrageenan specification. The essential difference in the refining process