Carrageenan – E-407-407a

The abdominal distension caused by carrageenan is called carrageenan bloat.

Carrageenan Carrageenan is used to increase viscosity in any processed food. It appears in the food ingredients list on packaged food labels as E-407-407a. Carrageenan is added to about 50% of processed foods. It is even used in beer and wine to remove haze-causing proteins. Carrageenan is used as an excipient in bakery and bakery creams, biscuits, bread dough, toffee, chocolate, ice cream, toothpaste, medicines. Because the body does not get any active contribution from it. But after a quantity or a time, its serious consequences have been seen in many people.

Carrageenan is prepared from marine red algae (Chandrus crispus / carrageenan moss). There are three types of carrageenan – kappa, iota (for soft gel), and lambda (which does not gel and is used in the dairy industry). Widely used in imitation dairy products.

Under normal circumstances, the recommended daily intake of carrageenan is 75 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. That is, for a normal person whose weight is 75 kg, it is safe to eat food containing more than 5-6 grams of carrageenan. Eating more than this and continuously can lead to many serious consequences.

Carrageenan is seen as a vegetarian alternative to gelatin. But it has been mired in controversies since its inception. Sometimes it is not even displayed on the product. The global market for carrageenan is expected to exceed INR 66 billion in 2021 and is growing at an annual growth rate of 5.8 percent every year.

Carrageenan has been used for over 200 years. It was recognized as a food ingredient in 1935. However, through experiments and testing over time, carrageenan has been shown to be safe for consumption in amounts and limits. The abdominal distension caused by carrageenan is called carrageenan bloat.

Which happens due to excessive amount of carrageenan reaching the body. Ice cream and canned fruit juices are very popular among youth and children. Which contains the amount of carrageenan.
Even many dairy industries and companies selling packaged milk also use carrageenan to make milk appear thicker and to hide adulteration.

In many tests done on rats, intestinal cancer, decreased fertility, weight gain, etc. were found in rats. Many food experts believe that carrageenan increases inflammation in the intestines. Chronic consumption of carrageenan can lead to intestinal cancer, weight gain, diabetes. And there is weakness in the reproductive organs. Some food experts advocate removing carrageenan from the food list.

Because carrageenan does not bring any benefit to the body. The packaged food industry has always tried to hide the ingredients list of a product. Either a product is not mentioned at all or the customer is kept in the dark by resorting to international coding or highly scientific nomenclature. And the amount of food ingredients in the product itself is hidden. Due to which the customer is not aware of the alleged safe quantity of the food item and the customer is forced to go towards the health and pharmaceutical industry.

There are many such elements in our daily food and drink. Some of which are safe for consumption. But these food ingredients can cause harm in excess of limited quantities. But due to our carelessness and neglect, we keep breaking the limit of limited quantity everyday and become victims of diseases.
Package food is slowly becoming package poison today. Which is dangerous for children and youth. And it is becoming a threat to the coming generations as well. That’s why this effort should be made to reduce package food as much as possible. And go towards natural and organic food items.