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BREAKING: Major Company Removing Controversial Ingredient Carrageenan Because Of You!

You never cease to amaze me Food Babe Army! The power you have to change the world is incredible. I just received confirmation that Whitewave Foods, who owns Horizon and Silk, will be removing all carrageenan from their products in 2015.  

FB_WhiteWaveCarrageenan_3-1

Earlier today, I received an anonymous email that stated:

“To whom it may concern, Through friends I have made in the industry an announcement from Whitewave was shared with me regarding their removal of Carrageenan from their products. Due to the overwhelming pressure from consumers and encouragement from your website foodbabe.com, Whitewave has announced that they will be removing Carrageenan. Keep up the good work. Attached you will find the announcement letter from Whitewave regarding this”.

Along with this attached document from Whitewave Foods:

We are removing carrageenan from our Horizon and Silk products!

  • Our consumers have expressed a desire for products without it and we are listening!
  • Carrageenan will be removed from Horizon flavored milk in Q1 2015, and from all other Horizon items by Q2 2015 (eggnog, Tuberz, heavy whipping cream, regular and lowfat cottage cheese and lowfat sour cream).
  • It will be removed from our top 5 Silk ESL Soy and Coconut beverages by Q2 2015 and remaining Silk Aseptic and other ESL products by end of 2016.
  • What is carrageenan?
    • A purified extract of red seaweed that is widely used in food and beverage products as a natural thickener and stabilizer.  Allowed for use in organic products since 1995
    • National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Handling Committee voted unanimously in February 2012 to recommend it for relisting
    • Food grade carrageenan is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by FDA, and is permitted for use by federal and international food safety agencies including FDA, and Health Canada

It was just reported by the Associated Press via ABC News that they decided to remove it “because customer feedback has been so strong“. Yes, it is because of all of YOU and your resounding voices, they have decided to make this positive change. This is in direct response to your continued activism in holding companies accountable for the ingredients they put in their products. 

Carrageenan Should Be Removed From All Food – Here’s Why:

I first wrote about this controversial additive back in May of 2012 when a cousin of mine asked me to investigate this ingredient. I highlighted research from food industry watchdog group, The Cornucopia Institute, who completed an in-depth analysis regarding the safety of this ingredient and subsequently petitioned the FDA to remove the additive from the “Generally Regarded As Safe” or GRAS determination and from organic foods all together.

In their report, they explained why even food-grade carrageenan is dangerous, yet how many food companies have continued to unscrupulously add it to their products. According to Cornucopia, animal studies show that “food-grade carrageenan causes gastrointestinal inflammation and higher rates of intestinal lesions, ulcerations, and even malignant tumors”. It can also cause cancer, because food grade “undegraded” carrageenan is contaminated with “degraded” carrageenan (the kind that’s not considered “food grade”). The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer and the National Research Council of the United States have both determined that degraded carrageenan is a carcinogen. So, it clearly should not be in our food – but it still is.

As reported this week in the Washington Post, Joanne Tobacman, a physician and professor, “asked the FDA in 2008 to examine the additives safety, submitting five of her own studies concluding that carrageenan can cause inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes. The studies were financed with grants from the federal government. The FDA denied her petition, citing several other industry-funded studies that contradicted her findings“.

Since the FDA won’t do anything to get carrageenan removed from our food, it is up to us to make this happen. 

Other Companies Are Guilty, But This Can Be Changed.

I’m so thrilled that Whitewave made this announcement, because this will likely lead to other companies following suit. Mark Kastel of The Cornucopia Institute has been working on this issue for years, and says that Whitewave’s decision reflects the rise of “people power” – which is so true. We do have the power to enact big changes in the food industry and this is proof of that.

Let’s help to be part of this sweeping change to remove carrageenan from our food supply by avoiding all products with carrageenan and ask companies who are still using it to drop it.

In this shopping guide, created by The Cornucopia Institute, you’ll find a list of all companies guilty of using this ingredient. If one of your favorite products is listed, please do your part and contact that company and ask them to remove it. If you know of other companies that are still using carrageenan, list them in the comments below.

FDA Asleep At The Wheel!

Whitewave’s announcement proves targeting companies works much faster than targeting the FDA. Michael Taylor, FDA’s deputy commissioner for food, even admitted this week that “We simply do not have the information to vouch for the safety of many of these chemicals” and “we do not know the volume of particular chemicals that are going into the food supply.” The FDA is completely asleep at the wheel. It’s up to us to hold these companies accountable and that’s exactly what we are doing.

You are so awesome. Congratulations Food Babe Army! We are changing the food system once again. 

Sending you lots of love and courage to keep moving forward,  

Vani 

 

P.S. If you are new to Food Babe and want to change the food system, come on over and sign up here, it’s completely free!

 
 
 
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390 responses to “BREAKING: Major Company Removing Controversial Ingredient Carrageenan Because Of You!

    1. Haha, good point, but given the evidence shown in the Cornucopia shopping guide, companies don’t have to use it at all.

      1. I bought silk milk and chocolate milk but in the ingredients don’t say that they use carrageenan . Are they lying?

      2. they do NOT have to use it. i began to avoid this product several years ago when i noticed that home made ice cream made with horizon half and half made me queasy and the spoon would have a waxy-like residue on it. i began to use half and half from a farmers market that had no carrageenan and noticed no residue or queasiness.

      3. Make your own!!!!!!!!! I was buying my Almond milk from my local health food store, One day I asked a question to the owner-operator about Almond milk and the hidden harmful ingredients, she said “I make my own” and proceeded to give me the “how toos” I said the same thing, wow its that easy….and guess what it is!!! you can add berries and make a fun strawberry flavor for kids (or adults) add chocolate. MMMMMM
        I like vanilla bean and honey. Cheers.

        Soak 3/4 cup almonds overnight, Blend in blender with 5 cups filtered water, strain (use cheese cloth to strain it) , voila done. add flavor. NATURAL FLAVOR, lol

      4. Vani, quick question, I have a year using Nature’s Gate Fluoride Free Toothpaste, and I noticed it has carrageenan. I live in Costa Rica, and there’s no Fluoride Free Toothpaste options here. I got this through Amazon, but, do you recommend another option? Can we make some pressure on them? They’re supposed to sell natural products. I really admire your job in the US and we have a website called Bloque verde and we follow you always!

        Thanks and waiting for your answer.

        A concerned customer, pura vida!

    2. This was my first question as well. I guess we will see….are we going to trade a potentially bad ingredient for one that’s worse? Let’s hope not.

      1. Make our own toothpaste. 1/4 cup Organic baking SODA, 1/8tsp ascorbic acid; 1tsp Celtic or Pink Himilayan Sea Salt; 1 Tbl Food Grade Hydrogen Peroxide; 1 Tbl Organic Vegetable Glycerine; contents of one 400 IU dalpha Mixed tocopherols VIT E. Add a few drops of Anise or Spearmint Extract, and 1/2 tsp Organic Stevia Extract White Powder, if as sweetened paste is desired. Mix with plastic or wood spoon. I add 10 drops Lugols Iodine Solution and 20 drops Oil of WILD MOUNTAIN OEGANO. Add extra Baking Soda or Glycerine 1/8 tsp at a time until a commercial toothpaste similar consistency is reached. Store in a wider mouthed dark glass bottle. I use a baking yeast brown bottle. Measure a tsp onto your toothbrush with a plastic spoon. Wash spoon. Don’t ever dip toothbrush into dental paste bottle. Bacterial contamination….

    3. They will replace it with either Gellan Gum or Guar Gum… more than likely… or some other gums… usually manufacturers use more than 1 gum in food and beverages… Soon we will see that Gellan gum is no better, more people have more issues of gastro-intestinal discomfort when ingesting products that contain Gellan gum than they do with carrageenan. I recommend avoiding products that contain any and all gums…

      Organic Valley began using Gellan gum in their products approx 1+ years ago and if I had to guess… sales have plummeted… because consumers will not re-purchase a product, when they feel immediate discomfort from the product ingested.

      Gellan gum is produced through bacterial fermentation (pseudomonas elodea), It also, like Carrageenan, may be a source of MSG (processed free glutamic acid). Can cause diarrhea and gastrointestinal distress.

      1. Locust bean gum is reportedly safe. Flax seed oozes a nice gel.
        Whatever did those famous Parisian chefs and bakers ever do without out all the Frankingredients?? It’s tough. Somedays just figuring out what taste I’m sussing out. Oddly on those days I finally discovered what I really needed was plain, clean,water, sometimes with a twit of lemon or lime. I’m blessed in that my water comes from 200 feet in the ground, mineral balanced, & critter free.
        I could live on bananas and potatoes. Turns out I’m severely reactive to both. Go figure. I’m pretty conscious of what I eat, and everything comes from scratch. Rather spend my bucks and time on the preparation end than in dialysis trice weekly; chemo or an old folks farm.

  1. Good job Vani!!! I’m so proud of you! You are such a role model and inspiration, I want to be an activist like you when I’m older!

    1. You don’t have to wait until you are older, start now, start young and start working! 🙂

      1. Well I actually started!! I’m an intern for the green schools alliance and I write blog posts for them! My first entry was on Minnesota’s ban on Triclosan, if you’d like to read it you can find it here
        http://leajarnberg.wordpress.com
        If you have any pointers, tips, anything, I’m open to all! Let me know ever need help with any investigations or if you take interns! Thanks for responding it means so much to me!

      2. Great job, Lea! We need more people like Vani with Food Babe! She is a great role model.

        Good luck, Lea

  2. So thankful for the first step! Now, can Whitewave Foods remove Vit.D2 & other ingredients that aren’t healthy so that we can be assured it is safe for our kids consumption? Wouldn’t be wonderful if we could just go to the store & easily find healthy, nourishing milk alternatives?!

    1. Brian, I just purchased Califia Farms Almond Milk at Fred Meyer which has 2 ingredients: almonds & pure cane sugar. Yum!!

      1. I also use Califa but if you look closely under the ingredients it says also contains less than 2% of the following ingredients and one of those ingredients is carrageenan.
        It’s a very deceptive label.

      2. This is so easy buy a nut milk bag for a few dollars and use your blender to blend a cup of soaked almonds in 2 cups of water and strain in the nut milk bag. Presto fresh almond milk that will last several days in your frig.. You can also add a soaked date to sweeten it up a bit as well as vanilla for flavor. So easy a cave man could do it.

      1. I’ve had that brand before and I can attest… definitley the best tasting one I’ve tried so far

      2. I’m glad that I kept reading. My lady drinks a lot of Almond milk and has the 365 brand in the fridge along with Pacific brand. Pacific has carageenan and as mentioned, 365 doesn’t. Thanks Healthy Foodie

    2. Take 3/4 cup of raw organic almonds soak over night, drain and rinse, put in blender with 5 cups of filtered water, blend, add honey to taste and vanilla if you want, and blend again, strain and drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You don’t have to buy it!!

      1. Excellent idea, make your own. That way you know what’s in it. Are the other so call brands organic?

      2. Thanks for this recipe! Why wouldn’t we make our own when it’s this easy? I’m off to the store to get the almonds!

      3. I was buying my Almond milk from my local health food store, I was asking a question one day to the owner-operator about Almond milk and the hidden harmful ingredients, she said “I make my own” and proceeded to give me the “how toos” I said the same thing, wow its that easy….and guess what it is!!! you can add berries and make a fun strawberry flavor for kids (or adults) add chocolate. MMMMMM
        I like vanilla bean and honey. Cheers. (use cheese cloth to strain it)

    1. Are you ingesting large amounts of toothpaste? Is there any evidence that carrageenan is harmful in toothpaste?

      1. I don’t swallow toothpaste, but my little guy does (he’s learning how to brush his teeth). Carrageenan is in their kids toothpaste too. Once ingested, it is harmful, just like in our normal food items. Our kiddos need even more protection than we do 🙂

    2. Amanda, I was wondering the same thing. Carrageenan is in every toothpaste I looked at including all the natural ones and kids toothpaste. Did Vani ever comment on this?

  3. YESS!!!!! I am so happy to hear this. I’ve been having a hard time finding a milk alternative that doesn’t have this. What a relief!!

  4. Has any pressure been brought to bear on Safeway to remove Carrageenan from their Lucerne dairy products?

  5. I try to look for things now-a-days without carrageenan. Like I never realized the deli meat turkey from applegate has carrageenan that they carry!

    1. A lot of processed meats have it! First rule of good nutrition: read labels. Every label, every time.

      1. Glad people are writing applegate. I notice their ham doesn’t contain carrageenan, but I don’t eat pork. =( I do buy organic farms lunch meat turkey at my health store. However, they only carry turkey and ham. I have urged them to bring in chicken lunch meat from organic farms, too, as I don’t want turkey all the time. =p

  6. I believe silk puts it in the coconut milk products not dark chocolate or regular almond milk.

    1. Yes, that’s true. I’ve been ingredient watching on both the cartons and on the Cornucopia Institute web site that Vani mentions. Carrageenan is no longer in the Silk Almond milks (not sure of all varieties). It’s also been removed from Kroger’s Simple Truth Almond milks.

  7. Excellent news! I just hope they don’t jack up their prices when they do it. As I suffer from Crohn’s disease, anything that can cause inflammation is very problematic for me. But, I’ve pretty much been on my own learning what does as the docs would rather hand out prescriptions than take the time to work with patients on nutrition. Thanks, Vani!

    1. I hear you Deborah! I have Ulcerative Colitis & the doctors just want to give me perscriptions. I have done a ton of research & modifications of my diet all on my own…then quit taking the meds. I feel great! I believe so many health issues are due to the chemicals that are being put into our food supply.

      1. I agree, many if not most chronic health problems probably have these chemicals as one of their causative factors. I’ve been gradually modifying my diet since my diagnosis some 14 years ago, and have not had to take any of their meds for at least 6 years. Which is a good thing as the side effects were significant. But, it wasn’t until recently, when I started paying more attention to, and removing from my diet, the so-called healthy and safe additives/chemicals that my gut function has started to normalize. Hopefully, after a time this renewed vigilance will find me healthy…or at least as healthy as someone with a congenital heart defect can be! 🙂

  8. Customers need to remain vigilant, nonetheless. Without the thickening action of the carregeenan, the product is going be watery. Manufacturers may try to slip something else in. Better to work on eliminating all of these things from the diet.

    1. You can use either whole or ground chia seeds to thicken various things like jams, gravies, dressings, and probably could use it to thicken watery vegan milks if you had to. You don’t even need heat for thickening to take place like you do with cornstarch. The chia seeds can form a thick gel in cold liquid. I found a couple recipes for making fruit preserves on the internet using chia seeds as the thickener instead of pectin. In one recipe you cook the fruit in the crockpot with the sweetener and some lemon juice (all-natural color preservative) and add the chia seeds later in the process. With this recipe you could use frozen strawberries if you wanted to. With the other recipe you simply blend fresh strawberries with sweetener (I use Truvia packets), a little lemon juice, and some chia seeds in a blender or food processor and simply put into a storage container and store in the fridge overnight for the thickening to take place. I haven’t had a chance to try either recipe yet but the raw technique where you blend it all up in the blender seems like a healthier technique for making fruit jams/preserves since all the antioxidants and vitamins and stuff should remain intact unlike cooking it in the crockpot which would probably neutralize some of those good things.

  9. Great News Food Babe! I am thrilled to hear this. BTW I found carregeenan listed in my roasted chicken from Stop & Shop Grocery store!!! I was trying to buy a “whole food”! Why do they need to add a thickening agent to a chicken? This is ridiculous! LESS is MORE!

    1. It might be that thickening is not the only thing they use carageenan for. It might possibly have preservative functions too. But whatever the purpose I’m sure they could find something much healthier to use instead of carageenan.

  10. So delicious icecreams have caragennan in them. Can you guys do anything about it. I love their ice cream but had to stop eating them after reading Caragennan.

  11. Could you try talking to Dairy Queen? They have carrageenan in their soft serve, and dough conditioners in their bread. 🙁

  12. Hi, i am taking an enhancement and i am wondering if it is what they say it is how can i have it tested to see if it meets what they are saying?

  13. Carageenen. Causes leaky gut in healthy people imagine what is does to unstable gut walls. I knew there was a.problem when I started seeing Carageenen free on foods and drinks. BPA , Hydrogenated this and that & Carageenen what’s next Geez let’s go back 40 years and go back to basics. I am just hungry for real.food !

    1. The only way I have found to get the real food from days gone by, is to buy strictly organic whole fresh food and cook it yourself. You can grow your own herbs and spices and have fresh wonderful tasing foods from the ‘before chemical revolution’, like I grew up on. Real butter made from NON GMO treatments are now readily available, as is virgin coconut oil, olive oil and such. You can do this quite easily with little effort. Throw away the microwaves too because they destroy the wonderful food you do cook. It really is quite simple. If it comes in a container it is contaminated with something! Find a butcher shop (which are few and far between) that has only healthy non gmo meat and start there. You will be amazed in just a short time how much better you will feel and how much medicine you won’t be needing any more.
      I never could figure out how adding poison to our food, and then treating us for the side effects with more poisons, was suppose to help anyone but big pharma. Just takes common sense and a little more work for a lot more for the buck in the long run.

  14. This is awesome news Vani! Congratulations and hopefully they aren’t just trying to be sleazy and stick some other alternative ingredient thats just as bad or worse … keep up the great work! 😀

  15. G8 job Food Babe!!! I have been personally trying to educate my friends about Carrageenan!! Few listen, few don’t 🙁

    Recently, I found that this ingredient is there in:
    – IN&OUT milk shakes (I asked them about it and they showed me the ingredients). Called them and informed them to remove this ingredient….

    – Real IceCreams / Nirvana Ice creams (Claims to be vegetarian) bu has this ingredient.

    Millions of kids/adults drink these milk shates/eat this ice cream almost every week.

    – Organic Almont milk, Organic Soy milk

    I request you Food Babe to talk to these companies and take immediate action.!!!

    And last but not the least, thanks a lot for doing this to the whole community!!!

    1. It’s in Tom’s toothpaste too (more of a concern for our kiddos that ingest toothpaste)!

  16. Our dollars are powerful. Companies care about their profits. If we continue to stick together and grow our numbers and boycott junk products, continued success is assured. People are becoming more educated and these companies know it. Never stop educating yourself and let others light their candle in you fire of knowledge.

  17. If they revert to using modified corn starch, I will not be able to consume any of these products. Oh well, at least they won’t be carcinogenic.

  18. That is wonderful news! I just recently became aware of how toxic carrageenen is. My son has a milk allergy and Silk is the only beverage that offers him the calcium and vitamins that he doesn’t get from other foods either- he is allergic to egg, and gluten as well. I’m wondering g what I should give him in the meantime?? Rice milk is not as nutritious….

    Great Job!!!!!

    1. If you make your own almond milk you can still put whatever vitamins and minerals you need into the mixture. Use a liquid supplement or if you have a good blender you can throw in a pill vitamin. Just don’t overdo it. He should still be able get plenty of calcium and nutrients from food, even with his limitations.

  19. Are they required to list carrageenan in the ingredients? I just looked at my Organic Valley creamer’s list of ingredients and it isn’t listed there.

  20. If Horizon & Silk are doing it, why the heck is Organic Valley & Stonyfield waiting for. I never thought to check heavy whipping cream & just noticed it. So disappointed

    1. I agree!!! Stony field needs to get on board and remove it from squeezable yogurts etc!!! I was so disappointed when I saw it there after purchasing for my daughter. She’s not a huge fan of yogurt and will only eat the squeezables when frozen. I thought I was good buying Stonyfield but was NOT!! Great work Vani!! I appreciate your efforts so much to make our food safer.

  21. Now if they would only get rid of the calcium carbonate I might consider buying their products.

  22. SUCCESS AGAIN! Soon one less thing to look for on the label/in the ingredients! THANK YOU VANI AND THE FOOD BABE TEAM FOR YOUR HARD WORK! Joe and Sue

  23. Yes!!! It is one of my favorite brands, so I am very excited and relieved! Great job Foodbabe! Our voices are being heard because of you!

  24. Food Babe you are awesome!! I have waiting for this a long time. Just like I have been waiting for UDI’s to change all of their products to non-GMO verified. I have made several calls over the last 3 years and was told 2 years ago it was happening but it hasn’t happened yet. I sent a Facebook message the other day and they have yet to confirm to me that they use non-gmo corn/etc..etc…. in their gluten free burritos I saw at Costco. I’ve hounded them all just like you but on a smaller scale to get non-gmo’s and bad ingredients out of our food. I tip my hat to what an awesome job you are doing for all of us!! Stay Strong, you have a Food Babe army behind you..God Bless!

  25. Great job Food Babe! My concern is what they will replace it with. Seriously, why did it need to be there in the first place?!?! How can we trust they won’t sneak some other junk in there?

  26. This is fantastic! I have been trying to avoid carrageenan for years. It has been very difficult. This is great news!

  27. You’re fantastic, Food Babe!! I looked at a very good almond milk (ingredients: almonds & water) recently and didn’t buy it because it was $5 for a quart and it’s way too easy to soak, blend, and strain 1 cup of almonds (cost $1 maybe) and 4 cups of water. So now there’ll be more excellent choices out there (due to your outstanding advocacy) but there’s a price. Make your own, people!

  28. Great news! Just yesterday I read the label on Silk Coconut Milk in the supermarket, and promptly put it right back on the shelf.

  29. I am so excited for this!! We make homemade ice cream a few times per month and I have not been able to find any organic heavy creams at my local store than do not contain carrageenan. So glad that these companies are removing it and are listening to our voices.

  30. Take 3/4 cup of raw organic almonds soak over night, drain and rinse, put in blender with 5 cups of filtered water, blend, add honey to taste and vanilla if you want, and blend again, strain and drink!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You don’t have to buy it!! Its faster to make then then driving to the store to pick it up!!!!

  31. While this is a coup for you, Vanni, please remember that The Cornucopia Institute has rated Horizon/White Wave ETHICALLY DEFICIENT and also has a whole document dedicated to “factoids” about Dean Foods/White Wave/Horizon.

  32. Carregeenan is in WAY to many products! We have recently taken a road trip to a dairy for fresh dairy products to make our own yogurt and ice cream, etc. They happen to sell ice cream at the dairy. It contained carrageenan! I asked WHY? Because it is in the mix they use! They had no idea what it was or why it should be in there. We’ll see if changes are made…..They didn’t seem to care.

  33. I hope this means that Stoneyfield and Trader Joes will consider taking it out of their organic kids squirt yogurts. I quit buying both of those last year.

  34. Outstanding News! I’m glad I signed the Cornucopia petition. I love it when a plan works.

    Keep up the awesome focus.

  35. Yay!! Wonderful. That will make my trip home to the middle of nowhere in NC more comfortable and healthy since they only have a Walmart. Im pretty sure horizons and silk is sold at walmart..speaking of traveling home…Do you have a comprehensive blog post about what to eat in restaurants (Mexican, Chinese etc.)to avoid GMOs? Sometimes I’m sure I drive people crazy when I visit home and tell them I can’t go out to eat because of GMOs. (I live in Spain and we don’t have this problem)

  36. GREAT news on Silk. I changed from their soy milk to the almond mik because it doesn’t have Carrageenan in it. I drank the soy milk for 13 years before hearing about the Carrageenan in it. I will enjoy soy milk again when it is available without the bad stuff.

    Wonder when Publix Premium Whole Wheat bread will be mads without the Azodicarbonamide??!! I called their corporate headquarters months ago when the Subway bread was in your news.

  37. The scientific community at large continues affirmation that carrageenan is safe for even the most vulnerable populations. The esteemed and independent scientific body that reviews food additives for the World Health Organization, the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), announced this June a scientific review finding carrageenan safe even for use in infant formula.

    The International Agency for Research on Cancer is the body which advises the World Health Organization on cancer risks for substances and their findings for carrageenan clearly state that “Native (undegraded) carrageenan was tested for carcinogenicity in rats and hamsters by administration in the diet; no evidence of carcinogenicity was found”

    JECFA’s thorough review considered the entire body of available scientific research on carrageenan safety for all population, incorporating the most relevant research into its final decision. This major finding was only vaguely referenced in a photo cutline, while Dr. Tobacman’s outdated petition from 2008 was highlighted. JECFA and the FDA ultimately rejected that petition because the research it rests upon is not applicable to the way carrageenan is consumed by people.

    All dietary studies intended to simulate the conditions of actual human consumption of carrageenan have found carrageenan to be safe, including a recent study of neonatal pigs that replicated the conditions of human infants consuming carrageenan in infant formula and found no safety concerns even in this most vulnerable population.

    Long-term studies of rodents and primates fed carrageenan (including infant baboons) have also found no indication of harm, carcinogenicity, or negative effects from carrageenan on the intestinal tract or other organ systems in test animals.

    There is no lack of information on the safety of carrageenan. There is simply continued mischaracterization and misapplication of science regarding this important additive.

    1. Perhaps tell this to the Cornucopia Institute. I am not sure I would just believe organizations willy-nilly especially when those you mentioned are influenced by corporate dollars. You know, money that is spent to influence study results and confuse consumers in order to continue getting their dollars even if their products are detrimental.

      As I’ve said before, you can’t convince me that smoking is unhealthy. My grandfather smoked for better than 60 years and died at 93, so I have come to the conclusion that smoking is healthy. Do you see the argument? I’m not convinced that your listed studies are not corporate-sponsored.

    2. The FDA is not to be trusted any more. They work for Monsanto, Dow, and all the other corporations silencing our Right to Know. You should know better than cite anything by the FDA or USDA to this crowd.

      1. Obviously, WHO’s opinion doesn’t matter since, according to your own assertion, they get their info from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Additionally, I found nothing on WHO’s website related to carrageenan.

        Here’s what I found on the iarc.fr website. (Didn’t think I’d check?)

        1) IARC is a French research center. Hmm, I didn’t think people trusted the French. I guess when it suits their purpose… Anyway, there are 3 companies in Europe producing carrageenan: 2 in Denmark and 1 in … wait for it … France. So, the IARC might have a fiduciary incentive to lessen the harmful effects of carrageenan.

        2) The IARC references two studies: one using 60 MRC outbred rats and another using 200 Syrian golden hamsters. While both studies showed little difference between these and control groups using undegraded carrageenan, they were both done by Rustia et al in 1980, basically a single researcher doing the same study using fairly small sample sizes. Why take data from a single researcher when so “many studies have shown carrageenan to be safe”?

        Reading further, it details other studies that showed carrageenan enhanced the incidence of colonic tumors in (AOM) azoxymethane- and (NMU) nitrosomethylurea- treated rats: AOM+carrageenan = 29/29 rats got tumors while just 17/30 rats given AOM alone got tumors, NMU+carrageenan = 29/29 rats got tumors while just 20/29 rats given NMU alone.

        3) Regarding degraded carrageenan which can mistakenly get into undegraded carrageenan and therefore into food products intended for humans, the following was noted: Four groups of 60 rats each were fed a diet containing 0%, 1%, 5%, and 10% degraded carrageenan. Colorectal squamous metaplasia, which is not good, was found in 0/60, 0/60, 53/60, and 59/60 rats in each of those four groups respectively. Colorectal tumors, which are bad, were found in 0/60, 0/60, 12/60, and 19/60 rats per group respectively. As is readily noted, the more degraded carrageenan the rats were exposed to, the more disease that resulted.

        Thank you for giving me the incentive to educate others about research from organizations that you quoted on the negative effects of carrageenan.

    3. Sorry everyone, that this will be here twice, but it makes more sense replying to Ingredients than to myself. I didn’t realize this when first submitted.

      Obviously, WHO’s opinion doesn’t matter since, according to your own assertion, they get their info from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Additionally, I found nothing on WHO’s website related to carrageenan.

      Here’s what I found on the iarc.fr website. (Didn’t think I’d check?)

      1) IARC is a French research center. Hmm, I didn’t think people trusted the French. I guess when it suits their purpose… Anyway, there are 3 companies in Europe producing carrageenan: 2 in Denmark and 1 in … wait for it … France. So, the IARC might have a fiduciary incentive to lessen the harmful effects of carrageenan.

      2) The IARC references two studies: one using 60 MRC outbred rats and another using 200 Syrian golden hamsters. While both studies showed little difference between these and control groups using undegraded carrageenan, they were both done by Rustia et al in 1980, basically a single researcher doing the same study using fairly small sample sizes. Why take data from a single researcher when so “many studies have shown carrageenan to be safe”?

      Reading further, it details other studies that showed carrageenan enhanced the incidence of colonic tumors in (AOM) azoxymethane- and (NMU) nitrosomethylurea- treated rats: AOM+carrageenan = 29/29 rats got tumors while just 17/30 rats given AOM alone got tumors, NMU+carrageenan = 29/29 rats got tumors while just 20/29 rats given NMU alone.

      3) Regarding degraded carrageenan which can mistakenly get into undegraded carrageenan and therefore into food products intended for humans, the following was noted: Four groups of 60 rats each were fed a diet containing 0%, 1%, 5%, and 10% degraded carrageenan. Colorectal squamous metaplasia, which is not good, was found in 0/60, 0/60, 53/60, and 59/60 rats in each of those four groups respectively. Colorectal tumors, which are bad, were found in 0/60, 0/60, 12/60, and 19/60 rats per group respectively. As is readily noted, the more degraded carrageenan the rats were exposed to, the more disease that resulted.

      Thank you for giving me the incentive to educate others about research from organizations that you quoted on the negative effects of carrageenan.

    4. Debbie: You may not have been alive in the 1970s, but the tobacco industry had all kinds of scientific literature proving the safety of tobacco smoking. And their scientific community dismissed all kinds of studies by independent researchers for all kinds of reasons included the method that was used to test the subjects.

      As for the manner that it is ingested, it really doesn’t matter. Carrageenan is a dangerous substance that some company has to put through a series of steps in order to make it less dangerous. As noted by the IARC, undegraded carrageenan is not perfectly safe.

      And since carrageenan is not safe and not necessary, why put yourself, your family, your children at risk unnecessarily. Doesn’t make sense to me, and it doesn’t make sense to most of the people on this board. However, if you want to subject your family to this risk, I have no issue with it. We need a lot of human subjects anyway to test this substance on in order to determine its safety. If not you, then who? So, thank you for putting yourselves at risk for us.

    5. Nowhere on the page you provided could I locate your claim. It doesn’t exist.

      However, these quotes are directly from the link you provided. Review your link again, and prove me wrong.

      From your link:
      Under “Evaluation” were these two sentences:
      “In the absence of epidemiological data, no evaluation of the carcinogenicity of native [undegraded] carrageenan to humans could be made.” NO evaluation could be made.

      and “Experiments in rats with doses of degraded carrageenan comparable to those used to test native carrageenan provide **sufficient evidence** for the carcinogenicity of degraded carrageenan in rats.” It says, “sufficient evidence” (italicized in their report) FOR carcinogenicity (i.e. causing cancer).

      So, degraded carrageenan is known to be carcinogenic in rats (and hamsters, as my previous post noted). They process the carrageenan hoping it’s no longer carcinogenic which makes it undegraded. However, as noted above, no evaluation can be made regarding humans and undegraded carrageenan contrary to your post.

      This is almost like that Japanese seafood dish that is highly poisonous unless it is prepared just right. Yet, mistakes are made and some Japanese die each year from eating it.

      As I alluded to before, if you’re willing to feed your family carrageenan with the knowledge that it is carcinogenic, why not smoke, too?

      BTW, you’re not getting your data from the IARC website as you implied, but from “inchem.org” instead which makes me curious as to why. My info came straight from the iarc.fr web site and hasn’t been condensed.

      FYI: http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol1-42/mono31.pdf
      pages 85-86 are the pages I referenced in my previous post.

    6. BTW, I’m not trying to convince you that carrageenan is unsafe. I’m providing references and information for others to make up their own minds about what they feed their families. In this case, it does appear that you are spreading misinformation. I wonder why.

      Why would you care to convince others to eat something that they might consider dangerous? Perhaps you’re financially invested in carrageenan somehow. Perhaps you know someone who is. It just makes me wonder at your insistence on spending so much time defending something that really shouldn’t matter to you.

      It makes sense that Vani spreads information. Whether her research is correct or not, She is trying to help others. But I don’t follow why you’re trying to get people to eat carrageenan, especially when your link suggests the opposite of what you claim.

    7. Why is ANY additive IMPORTANT? How do we benefit by consuming an additive? Or is it only important to the food manufacturers (“manufacturers” because they manufacture food) profits?

      1. Right on brother. The manufacturers are preoccupied with profits. Ya can’t trust any of the buggers. I was at a meeting last weekend.
        A group of conventional health practitioners. A question as to how many of them had vaccinated their children. Second question how many referred their children to other practitioners for basic health care. No hands. Why not, came the question. They did not trust the care of their precious children to others and questionable science tat hs never been tested on humans for safety nor efficacy. With all the years I have in this business I ha d taken the industry at face value; but the truth is vaccinations have never been tested for safety nor efficacy on humans. Challenged on that point the manufacturers and pro vaccers attacked us saying it would be immoral to do double blind vaccine studies.

    8. BOOO!!! And Bashir al Asaad is a great and wonderful humanist !!! I am ashamed I can be lured into my reptile brain, but paid hacks and trolls can do it. Say 7 hail Jennifers and turn 7 times counterclockwise to the east in support of my absolution…..

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