I really wish I wasn’t writing this post right now. The information I am about to share with you will likely make you pretty angry and it should. Do you consume any of these brands in the picture below (Silk, Starbucks, So Delicious, Horizon, Zico, Blue Diamond, Pacific, Carnation and Tempt)? My guess is that you probably do.
A few days ago, the Cornucopia Institute released a Video by it’s co-founder and Senior Farm Analyst, Mark Kastel and a full PDF Report that shares some very startling practices between the USDA and the NOSA “National Organic Standards Board”- the agency that regulates organic food. This report explains the details behind several allegations of corporate corruption that has allowed several agribusinesses to use chemicals in organic products without sufficient regulatory oversight.
A Carcinogen Hiding In Organic Dairy & Dairy Substitutes
One of the findings has to do with a carcinogenic ingredient all these products have in common, a substance derived from red algae called carrageenan. Carrageenan can be found in most milk substitute products, infant formula, deli meats, cottage cheese and some flavored coconut waters regardless if the product is certified organic by the USDA. I know so many people who get soy lattes from Starbucks to avoid having to consume conventional milk products, so I thought it would be pertinent to include them here on the list below, since they and many other coffee shops use soy milk that contains carrageenan.
I’ve had my doubts about carrageenan for a long time – it started in 2011 when my cousin from Ohio sent me a Facebook message asking about whether or not it was ok to feed store bought almond milk that contained this additive to her toddler aged son. Since I didn’t have all the facts, I erred on the side of caution and suggested she make her own almond milk from scratch only.
Now, there are sound reasons and a plethora of studies that the Cornucopia Institute has summarized that has made all my hunches come true. Their report detailed out several specific studies that showed that food safe and approved “undegraded” carrageenan is containaminated with the non-approved degraded carrageenan. Furthermore, when you ingest the undegraded version, it actually starts to degrade in the gastrointestinal tract and in the liver and turn into a carcinogen, resulting in a serious inflammatory agent that also can cause intestinal abnormalities. Because of this reason and other studies conducted the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Research Council of the United States both have determined that carrageenan is a carcinogen – a substance that causes cancer.
How In The World Can A Carcinogen Be Allowed Into Organic Food?
This is where the Cornucopia Institute does a extraordinary job showing you the timeline of events, lack of regulation, and down right shadiness that all led up to carrageenan’s approval. They show you the series of situations where companies that profit from these ingredients were some of the only reviewers involved in the decision. It’s easy to understand how this can happen, now that organic food companies are being bought by major conventional food companies left and right. Below is a chart taken from the Cornucopia website that shows the relationship big food now has on several smaller organic companies. Please note – This was taken in 2009 and is even worse now, for instance Kraft has since bought Cadbury and so on.
Every time I mention a particular ingredient and it’s harm, I come across opponents to my line of arguments, saying that I am being alarmist or using scare tactics. They love to point out that it’s “food grade” or is safe in “low doses.” Looking at the findings and report on carrageenan, you can see these arguments can be seriously flawed. It reminds me of the times where I discussed the ingredient proplyene glycol in Panera Bread’s salad dressings and TBHQ in Chick-fil-A’s sandwiches. Just like the NOSB has accomplished with the USDA, the FDA also has continuously approved countless chemicals to be added to our food in a low doses. Does anyone really know what the cumulative effect of these additives is over time? Our soil is already depleted of several vitamins and minerals and the nutrition content of our food is declining every single year. How can we afford to put these chemicals in our body? Should we let the FDA tell us what percentage is safe? Or should we use our common sense and decide as a collective group not to consume these additives and chemicals?
I don’t know about you but I feel personally duped by carrageenan. I assumed that once a product was certified organic like Pacific Almond Milk, that it was perfectly safe to drink. I’ve even recommended this product and some others that contained carrageenan here on this site. I’ve since cleaned up my ingredient lists on my recipes and made sure my pantry staples list does not contain any products with this additive in it. We are all learning here together and I hope you forgive me for ever assuming this substance was safe to consume, because it is clearly not.
What You Can Do Instead
Milk substitutes are wildly popular and something many people consume almost everyday, so it’s important that if you were relying on one of these products above to start making your own milk or find another substitute. It’s so easy to make your own.
Check out my books The Food Babe Way and Food Babe Kitchen for nut milk recipes and strategies you can use to break free from the toxins in your food! My recipe for cashew milk takes 1 min and super easy to make!
Even though Cornucopia estimates they are close to 300 chemical additives approved to be used in organics, there are still thousands approved for conventional products. The facts presented here should not discourage you to eat less organic food, but to encourage you to fight for its regulations and ultimate safeguard. I urge you to watch the Video by Mark Kastel and read the Full Cornucopia Report when you have time and to spread this information to as many people as possible – Please feel free to share this post on Facebook, Twitter and your own blogs.
In The Best of Health Always,
Food Babe
P.S. Check out Cornucopia’s new shopping guide to find out which products do and do not contain carrageenan (Tree of Life, 365 Brand Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s (cold section) are a few).
8/19/2014 Update: In response to this blog post and your activism, Whitewave committed to remove carrageenan in 2015, but has not been completed yet.
I love reading your blog. Full of great information. Some I know, and some I did not. Carrageenan is in everything. I have stopped using organic heavy cream, because the only one that I can find in my store (Organic Valley) has carrageenan in it! Bummer. It is in most ice creams (hard to find organic ones and when my husband shops, he is not a label reader) but what is up with soy oil and other weird oils in ice cream?
Organic Valley does make a version of its organic heavy cream that is just cream (no carrageenan). Instead of the blue banner at the top, it’s got a green one (and I think it says Pastured on the label). Most of the natural foods stores (Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Vitamin Cottage) in Boulder sold them, sometimes alongside the other version, and they always seemed to be in much higher demand. See if your grocer will start carrying the pastured version!
If you want nutritious milk substitutes, try Good Karma flax milk. They currently do still have carageenan but they are phasing it out soon! I was totally fine with carageenan until this article, thanks for the info.!!!
carrageenan is also in most natural toothpastes. What if you cannot afford to eat organic? I know where I live everything certified organic has a price tag that is two to three times higher than conventional foods. I am a poor college student and cannot afford to pay those prices. One time I tried it and my grocery bill was about 100 dollars higher for the month.
Erin– eating organic products becomes less expensive when you shop farmers’ markets, grow your own, and/or barter labor for produce. Buying at Whole Foods and other organic stores can be very expensive, I agree. If it cuts into your budget, you’ll need to find alternative sources and recipes.
Hi Erin – carrageenan in toothpaste is not as concerning since it is not ingested. Check out this post for great budget tips. Good luck! https://foodbabe.com/2013/05/20/how-to-eat-organic-on-a-budget/
How can you say that ToothPaste is not ingested, when you use nitroglycerin it goes under the tongue doesn’t it? where it is fastly absorbed….. now explain that one, toothpaste im sure goes under the tongue and all around the mouth….Just saying…..
You have to cut out all the useless food your accustomed to buying and or addicted to. Going organic is a lifestyle change meaning you save money elsewhere to spend it on necessities such organic food and travel expenses. It takes awhile to get use to but you’re doing the right thing for yourself and the future because dangerous corporations are killing people by forcing farmers out of business and tainting the food supply with poisons. They are also having a detrimental effect on the ecosystem thus destroying the future for many generations. You must learn to live a life of activism and vote with your money otherwise all your hard work in college and hopes of raising a family of your own will truly be a suffering experience. KARMA: “what goes around comes around. ” It is our purpose to leave this world a better place than before.
Hi Erin. I’ve been making my toothpaste with coconut oil, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and essential oils. My teeth are cleaner than ever.
Hi Im just wondering what your recipe for toothpaste is. I tried one that only had baking soda, salt, and peppermint extract and found it way to salty. Am interested in trying new recipes
Maria can you share your recipe for your homemade toothpaste…and how do you store it, how long does it stay fresh?
LUSH cosmetics also makes toothy tabs which do not have carageenan : ) They are a great substitue for toothpaste.
Check and see if you have a coop or such nearby to you, as I’ve saved a lot of $$$ on my grocery bill. I use Bountiful Baskets (http://www.bountifulbaskets.org), and they offer both conventional and organic. I now get organic for what I used to pay at the grocery store for conventional. =)
Thank you for the info. My letter is in the mail as well!
The Silk Almond does not have that ingredient
Happy to found that out
I’ve switched to Silk almond
I really liked blue diamond almond milk
taste is better..but..
II have IBS sometimes and have to be more careful.
Westsoy’s plain soymilk is the way to go for the most simple, non-gmo store-bought milk alternative. I believe the ingredients are simply ‘filtered water, and non-GMO Certified Organic soybeans’. No fillers. No thickeners. In southeast America, I haven’t seen anything better than that. However, be cautious as their other milks –vanilla, light, rice milk, etc.– are not as simple.
On the optimistic side, I believe it’s conversations like these that make people aware. The more we learn individually, and as knowledge itself spreads, flaws will be successfully removed or corrected. The ingredients and logistics of groceries, in particular are changing so much, because we are. Let’s keep it up!
-Joel
southeast US that is.
Soy itself…unless. fermented is very bad for you!! I would not touch soy milk!!!
I do enjoy fermented misos and tempehs myself.
If there is in-fact anything negative of soy, it is likely attributed to the production. Just like wheat, and even now, rice. Wheat has been cross-bread faster than our bodies could evolve to digest. Cases in Asia suggest rice is beginning to open up bodily side effects as well.
While soy gets a bad wrap it can be your very wholesome friend if you just browse the package of your interest for 5 seconds. Stay away from mysterious, monster-picked soy. Check for organic and non-GMO soy and have no fear.
To put it simple, eat clean to enjoy almost anything.
The link to the pantry staple list in this article does not work. I get a 404 page not found error. I would like to receive or review a copy of this list, so I can be better informed. Many thanks, and great article!
I am stoked I found your web site I have been nailing Trader Joe’s for ever about what ‘s in their ingredients Yesterday I asked them if they had obtained any certificate to insure their corn products were not GMO “we guarantee our inspectors check it out no GMO” I am bummed about the red algae.
Is the organic sugar or Citric Acid they list on the Organic reduced sugar Preserves Beet sugar or GMO How about the organic free range chicken?? grass fed beef???
They keep repeating over and over all of their product are without preservatives and all non harmful ingredients. You are right about 2 Buck Chuck and the lower priced wines have a Non quality control variable they use to bee good now the quality has changed that could be across the board with the economy; a lot of consumer products companies are cheating their consumers. I research ingredients 30 years in the Natural Products industry I still get eye openers every day. Oh Yes a big one what about the ingredient in sun dried tomatoes the sulfates used to keep the color what’s up with that.????????????????????
I look forward to your response.
Jenine
Tree of Life brand almond milk has no carrageenan. I buy unsweetened, vanilla almond milk in hermetically sealed containers by the case so that I get a discount from the health food store.
Sadly, I just found this in my daughter’s allergy free chocolate bar. Bye bye chocolate bar – hello homemade 🙂
I have also noticed it in a lot of creamers. I make a lot of recipes from 100 Days of Real Food and some call for heavy cream. I have had pretty much no success finding organic creamer that does not have carrageenan in it. I will substitute for whole milk or half and half but I feel like the end result is not quite right.
I tried to go to you food pantry list and it says it is not longer available. Has the list been moved?
We just noticed that our 5 year old son’s Tom’s of Maine toothpaste has carrageenan in it! I was shocked. They address it on their website via ingredients list (Glycerin, water, calcium carbonate, hydrated silica, fruit extracts, carrageenan, sodium lauryl sulfate) and an explanation of what they say carrageenan is:
http://www.tomsofmaine.com/ingredients/overlay/carrageenan.
Karen – Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is a chemical toxin. I’d be avoiding this tooth paste big time! Check out – http://www.naturalnews.com/033932_sodium_lauryl_sulfate_shampoo.html
I used SoDelicious coconut milk and their almond milk but have now stopped purchasing that brand since Food Babe educated me on carrageenan. I found an excellent tasting brand of almond milk, not organic, but non-GMO, and the container is BPA free! It is made by Califia Farms in Bakersfield, CA (sold at my local Mariano’s Grocer). It’s the next best thing to homemade! I’m still searching for the same in a coconut milk version.
I just looked up their site and found the Almond Milk – it does have carrageenan in it 🙁 sorry
it is listed in all 4 of their flavors
Fresh from the fields of Califia comes the purest and tastiest Almondmilk you’ll ever have. As a grower-owned company we use only varietal almonds from California, picked at the peak of their flavor.
Our simple recipe gives you what you want and leaves out what you don’t – it’s all love at the breakfast table.
Made from non-genetically engineered almonds.
Ingredients: almondmilk (Filtered Water, Almonds), Organic Sugar.
Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Vitamin/Mineral Blend (Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Vitamin D2, Vitamin B12, Vitamin B2, Zinc), Gellan Gum, Carrageenan, Potassium Citrate, Sunflower Lecithin, Natural Flavors, Sea Salt.
I just looked up Califia Farms almond milk and I am so angry! Why don’t these companies list every single ingredient on their labels!? So upsetting to hear; I didn’t even check their website; now I will do that to everything I try in a bottle or jar! Thanks, Debbie! Ugh, so frustrating.
you’re welcome – I looked because it sounded like something I wanted to ck into for us as well and spotted it – we currently use Silk Brand – it is the only one that I can find locally that does not have it in it as well as ‘natural flavor’ (original only)
hope you can find something else that works for you
I want to try my hand at making my own but whew the organic almonds are so expensive and to buy them to be soaking a ton of it just to make milk I am having a hard time with it – we buy them but just to eat them right now (they do taste so much better than conventional as well) and they last us for quite a while too
I just read my Trader Joe’s Original Almond Milk & saw no carrageenan listed.
On a different Trader Joe’s Organic Raw honey from Mexico
has a USDA Organic label.
How do they know since it was produced in Mexico?
I contacted So Delicious about this a few months ago, and they assured me that they plan to have a carrageenan free coconut milk creamer out by Christmas. I’m afraid they will replace the carrageenan with guar gum. what do you think of guar gum?
SInce finding out over a month ago about carrageenan from Vani. I have stopped drinking nut milk altogether. However, I have gone back to unpasteurized, grass-fed local jersey cow, cream on top milk. I feel better and my fiance who has never been able to drink milk can now enjoy a glass without any digestion issues. It is some good stuff! There’s a book written by Nina Planck called “Real Food” that is incrediably informational on “foods we’ve been eating for a long time-in the case for of meat, fish, and eggs for millions of years”. It’s worth the read, you will rethink how you eat!
Carageenan is a common thickening agent/additive used in even “USDA Certified Organic” Chocolate Milk and Ice Cream. I saw Carageenan listed in a bottle of Local Farm Organic Chocolate Milk I got from Whole Foods, Pacific Brand Almond Milk, Full Tilt Ice Cream, Sonqualmie Ice Cream, SoDelicious Brand Yogurt, Rice Dream Frozen Dessert Sandwich, etc. It’s good to know that Panera Bread Salad dressing has that, too, so I will avoid it from now on. But is Carageenan worse than Propylene Glycol (a cousin of Antifreeze Ethylene Glycol) I found in Breyer’s Ice Cream, some Safeway Bakery, Costco Cheesecake, Robitussen’s Children Cough Syrup, PUR Flavored Filter Cartridges and some Canned Food Hot Dogs?
Tom’s toothpaste has it! It’s the only one I’ve found with no dyes! Ugh!
I found it in Organic Valley’s Whipping Cream. I contacted the company on Facebook and they responded. Apparently they have a non UHT cream that doesn’t have carrageenan. Also they said they are working on a new formulation that doesn’t contain it, due to many customer concerns. This made me super happy and like Organic Valley even more!
I live in Ontario, Canada. I do not see carrageenan in Silk Almond Milk but I do see it in Blue Diamond’s Almond Milk. I prefer Blue Diamond’s but will give it up for sure.
I haven’t checked hemp milk yet. Has anyone else?
I recently contacted SoDelicious about the carageenan in their products and they told me that all their products will be carageen free by 2014 and they are working on the packaging as we speak! They decided to do so because of overwhelming customer concern.
HI Vani, just wondering if you have any suggestion or know of a resource I and people like me can go to for advice…
I was macrobiotic in college and because I was also lactose intolerant, I started drinking Soy Milk. Eden Soy Organic was my drink of choice. I drank it straight, put it in my organic raspberry tea and after I went back to drinking coffee, 15 or more years ago have had my cafe-soy-lair daily. At least it was daily until about the last 6 months, I’ve gone back to the cow and it’s been organic 1/2 & 1/2. But for nearly 30 years I was drinking 2 cups a day most days. How do I find out what sort of damage if any, has been done? I know my doctor would LAUGH and not know what to test me for or where to refer me.
Thanks so much!
Thank you, Vani, you are a life saver (literally). <3
I even found Carrageenan in my kids’ toothpaste. And it was tom’s of Maine brand. Darnit.
I stopped buying Tom’s of Maine when they sold out to Colgate years ago.
Thanks for your research Food Babe. I recently had an interesting email conversation with the company So Delicious. I buy their unsweetened, plain coconut milk (I make all my other nut milks at home) and I wrote them about my concerns about Carrageenan. They said they take their customer’s concerns seriously and are reformulating their products (I’m not sure if they mean all of them) to take the Carrageenan out. They are taste testing the new formulas now and working on new packing and I’ll be keeping my eyes out for the new Carrageenan free coconut milk. Wow! A company that is changing based on customer concerns. If everyone talked to companies about their products and their ingredients would they change?
Costco recently started ADDING carrageenan to their rotisserie chicken! Why on earth does a chicken need this??
The poultry industry uses carrageenan to retain water in the birds, so that they stay juicer.
Thanks for all the informative information about almond milk. I recently started drinking Blue Diamond and shall look for the one that is Unsweetened. I will also check ingredients. Going shopping is not a quick trip anymore and requires vigilance and reading all labels.
Blue Diamond Unsweetened has carrageenan in it.
You are a beacon to us, Mz Food Babe. Thank you for faithfully sharing as you learn. There seems to be no end to the “Surprise!” element even in the best of foods. We all need to be more vigilant…..and go into the stores with our eyes wide open. Thanks again….and again….and again…..
Your video on how to make your own almond milk takes you to your Perfect Parfait Porridge instead … I will go out to your website and search for it though but wanted you to know. thank you!!
Hi Food Babe,
I appreciate the cautionary advice you provide, but after reading this article I really didn’t learn anything about carageenan, and limited information regarding the dangers and how it negatively affects our health. I was interested in finding out more so I went researching myself and the information is readily available on the internet, research based studies, not just various organizations providing information.
Since I’m a new subscriber I’m not familiar with how you generally publish information and how you research your findings prior to publishing, but I’d be interested to know. Links are fine, but the one you provided for the Cornucopia Institute took me to a place where I had to continue to search for information, without much luck, on carageenan.
I am looking for a comprehensive forum where I can get factual, unbiased information on which to make informed choices, not one that is filled with fluff and no substance. At this point I do not want to pass judgements and I will continue to read your posts before making a determination. I hope you will consider adding more specific information so the reader doesn’t have to link their way through the web, unless of course that is your intention.
Thanks Rhonda (& FoodBabe), I appreciate your comment. Perhaps you could add links for what you found?
Whom can you trust any longer? How much of this stuff is off-label? Can Carageenan still be present as an ingredient even though it’s not listed in the ingredients?
Does it ever get listed under a different name, or simply as “natural flavorings” or something similar?
Another thing that bothers me is that food manufacturers are putting Sucralose into ice cream and other products labelled “all natural” and they don’t even tip you off any more by writing “low calorie” or “sugar-free” which I used as a sign to avoid in the past.
Now you have to read EVERY INGREDIENT LABEL! It’s tiring!
I’m so frustrated with the food industry’s outright LIES.
And the day will come when blogs like this will be shut down by the Federal Government for even talking about this.
Don’t believe that? Look at the history of Stevia’s acceptance by the FDA and the shutdowns and raids of bookstores printing Stevia recipes.
Shees!
Trader Joe’s used to make an unsweetened almond milk that had just almonds and water but stopped carrying it for some reason (supply issue is what I was told) so I started using Blue Diamond. After reading about the additives a few weeks ago, I started to make my own nut milks (almond, hazelnut, cashew, etc) and find that they are really easy and less expensive. I dry and use the left over nut meat in baked goods. I’ve been using a jelly bag strainer to get most of the “nut dust” out. Works for me!
Whole Foods Organic Almond Milk, the 365 brand doesn’t have carrageenan in it.
Wow, what an eye opener. I have been avoiding carageenan for years, not becuase it is a carcinogen (I did not know that), but because it causes me serious digestive problems. It took me a long time to make that correlation and now to find this out…definitely bad stuff!
Is there hidden Carageenan in products (where it’s not listed under ingredients)? Are food companies legally able to use it without listing it?
I thought Stoneyfield yogurt was on the good list? That ingredient is listed on the yogurt squeezers! 🙁
It’s getting harder & harder to find food that’s SAFE to eat! 🙁
Can someone please help me ? I was perfectly happy with my coffee and half and half until I found out I was sensitive to casein and whey. I feel much better off dairy. I have been using So Delicious French Vanilla coffee creamer. It is the only thing I have found that even approximates cream. I don’t like soy creamer, people keep suggesting almond milk. Why don’t they realize that is like pouring skin milk in your coffee. I have made homeade almond and cashew creamer… yuck. oily thick and has residue. Plain cocanut milk, yuck. For some reason the So Delicious doesn’t taste like coconut. I am quite frustrated. I love my morning coffee . Any more ideas.
does it have this ( _________) <" anything" in it … well NOW the answer deserves research What A pain ! But So True !!!! … most all Ice cream used to say contains Petroleum Distillates may bee over 30 years ago on the label …. now since it is in about all Ice cream produced it is no longer necessary to be posted in ingredients listed on label can we get this changed too .. just more out cry for really what are we eating Blindly
why in the world would companies who supposedly care about people’s health by selling organic, gmo-free, etc products, put a carcinogen in their food and beverages???? WHY would any company profess to care and then turn around and put something in that causes cancer??? I AM LOSING ALL FAITH! and beginning to think that everything is bad for you. This is exactly why people do not become more involved, because it’s all confusing mixed messages! I had to throw away Horizon Egg nog, Silk organic un-sweetned soy milk, sour cream, half and half, etc etc etc, all supposed to be healthy and good for you, by companies who care about your health and that of your family, blah blah blah, it’s all bs!!! WHATS WORSE?? GMO’s, that haven’t been fully tested or defnitively proven dangerous, or a substance that is PROVEN to cause cancer???? I do not get it??
I feel the exact same way.
Soy Dreams Plain Soy does not seem to have it and I found it at Fred Meyer so should be readily available.
I have been making my own almond milk, but this weekend I realized I’d let the batch in my refrigerator go too long. Since the nuts need to be soaked for 8 hours, I went to the grocer to see if I could find anything without carrageenan in it. I was most pleased to find that Silk Almond Unsweetened does not. And, going to their web site, the Silk company is most engaged in the Non-GMO project. Yes!
I came here to find more information (where else would I go?) and discovered the link to The Cornucopia Institute, most specifically the link to the “does it or doesn’t it have carrageenan in it” page:
http://www.cornucopia.org/shopping-guide-to-avoiding-organic-foods-with-carrageenan/
Again, I was surprised (!) and pleased to see that Kroger’s Simple Truth Almond Milk no longer contains carrageenan. I had used that for a while but quit when I originally read this entry from Food Babe. So happy to see that improvement has been made.
I will still make my own almond milk, but it’s nice to know that in a pinch I can pick from producers who no longer include such a “bad” product within a good product.
Thanks, Food Babe!
Thank you for the helping to share information. My daughter also experiences mood swings and behavioral issues shortly after consuming carageenan. It took me by surprise in figuring it out as we eat pretty “clean” and buy natural and organic when buying packaged foods. The common factor in her outbursts was always carageenan. It passes within an hour, but no one should have such a bad reaction to “healthy” food. I am pleased that the voices are being heard. Again, thank you for your part in education.
Hi!
I just recently discovered coconut milk and I loved it! I was not a fan of almond milk and don’t drink soy. But then I read this post a few weeks ago. I made the trek to my local Trader Joes just to find the carrageenan free coconut milk you mentioned. I checked every lable I could find in the store and all had carrageenan so I was disappointed. Can you give me any more hints where to find crageenan free coconut milk?
Thanks!
Hi! I was wondering about TOOTHPASTE. I bought some Tom’s Of Maine toothpaste without the flouride in it, but just noticed tonight that it has CARRAGEENAN in it! 🙁 (We just finished off a tube of our usual brand, Crest.) *SIGH* What are we supposed to do for toothpaste?
My family loves regular milk. I have been buying Organic Horizon 2% milk. Is this a safe brand? My kids hate soy and almond milk. Any suggestions?
Speaking of almonds, do you have any thoughts on almonds being pasteurized with a chemical spray? I don’t buy Blue Diamond almonds because they spray them with chemicals. I prefer the ones that say they are steamed. But the truth is I prefer Blue Diamond’s almond milk to other brands I have tried in terms of flavor and texture so I’m not avoiding it entirely…
Thanks so much for this! Can you tell us about gellan gum and guar gum? The Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk in my fridge has gellan gum in it, but no carageean. Is that safe? My family so appreciates what you do!
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/health-benefits-guar-gum-7855.html
Looks pretty safe.
Are you implying to Jessica that gellan gum and guar are the same? I’m looking for the same info, trying to decide whether to open a box of Suzie’s Quinoa Milk that contains gellan gum.
It seems that Silk has started using gellan gum….instead of guar gum in their almond milk. I would not use anything with gellan in it, personally.
Once Whole Foods opens near us, we are going to get their 365 organic almond milk. It uses guar gum.
There are things private labeling does not have to put on their label. When the USDA has claimed it safe private labeling can leave it off the labeling. When it has been private labeled it has gone through to many hands to trace it back to who added it. Question where 365 day label is coming from??
I know whole foods 365 organic unsweetened soy milk has carrageenan in it