Food additive · Thickener / stabilizer
Carrageenan
- E-number
- E407
A thickener extracted from red seaweed, used in dairy and plant milks, ice cream, deli meats and infant formula.
- Food additive
- Emulsifier studied for gut effects
- Thickener, stabilizer or gelling agent
- Ultra-processing marker
- Expert review pending
Concern level
Strong evidence of harm at high intake, emerging evidence of harm, or a common allergen or irritant. The concern level sets how many points carrageenan costs on a product’s receipt.
What the evidence says
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Heart or metabolic health (emerging)Emerging evidence
In the NutriNet-Santé cohort, higher carrageenan intake was associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes; cause and effect is not established. [1]
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Gut microbiome (emerging)Emerging evidence
Emulsifiers and thickeners are being studied for effects on the gut microbiome and inflammation; evidence in humans is limited. [2][1]
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Low concernStrong evidence
EFSA (2018) kept a group ADI of 75 mg/kg body weight but called it temporary because of uncertainties. IARC classifies degraded carrageenan (poligeenan), which is not a food additive, as Group 2B and native carrageenan as Group 3. [3][4]
Evidence tiers say how sure the evidence is, separately from how much it matters. About evidence tiers.
Rules around the world
| Where | Status | Details | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Permitted | Permitted as a food additive (21 CFR 172.620). | — | [5] |
| European Union | Permitted | Permitted (E 407) with conditions of use. | — | [6] |
“Banned” means explicitly prohibited or withdrawn after review; “not permitted” means never authorized there. We use each regulator’s own words.
Popular products that list carrageenan
463 of the 17,000 most-scanned products in the US with a GoodSwap page list carrageenan. The 12 most scanned:
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Core Power High Protein Milk Shake Chocolate Fairlife · 14 oz Score 46 out of 100 Okay -
CORE POWER High Protein Milk Shake Chocolate Rlife · 414 mL Score 51 out of 100 Okay -
Chocolate Reduced Fat Ultra-filtered Milk Fairlife · 52 fl oz Score 30 out of 100 Poor -
High Protein Milkshake Vanilla Core Power · 14 oz Score 81 out of 100 Excellent -
Chocolate Shake Premier Protein · 11 fl oz (325 mL) Score 81 out of 100 Excellent -
Premier Protein Vanilla Shake Premier Protein · 11 oz Score 40 out of 100 Okay -
Fairlife protein drink Fairlife · 6.12 L/340 mL Score 49 out of 100 Okay -
High Protein Milk Shake fa!rlife CORE POWER · 14 fl oz/414 mL Score 49 out of 100 Okay -
Core Power Fairlife · 414 mL Score 49 out of 100 Okay -
Vanilla Premier Protein Shake Premier Protein · 11 fl oz Score 81 out of 100 Excellent -
Chocolate Protein Shake Premier Protein · 11 fl oz (325 mL) Score 44 out of 100 Okay -
Jben Jaouda · 160 g Score 71 out of 100 Good
Diets and allergens
- Vegan
- Yes
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Gluten-free
- Yes
For the ingredient in general. Always check the package: a product’s own labels win.
Names GoodSwap recognizes on labels (33)
- e407
- carageenan
- carrageenan
- carrageenen
- carrageenans
- carraghenane
- carraghenine
- thickener e407
- carrageenan gum
- stabiliser e407
- stabilizer e407
- iota carrageenan
- kappa carrageenan
- gelling agent e407
- irish moss extract
- lambda carrageenan
- carrageenan thickener
- thickener carrageenan
- carrageenan stabilizer
- stabiliser carrageenan
- stabilizer carrageenan
- thickeners carrageenan
- carrageenan for texture
- stabilisers carrageenan
- stabilizers carrageenan
- gelling agent carrageenan
- gelling agents carrageenan
- processed eucheuma seaweed
- carrageenan for consistency
- carrageenan seaweed extract
- carrageenan a natural stabilizer
- carrageenan to maintain freshness
- gelling agent processed eucheuma seaweed
Sources
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“We found direct associations between the risk of type 2 diabetes and exposures to various food additive emulsifiers widely used in industrial foods, in a large prospective cohort of French adults.”
doi.org
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Dietary emulsifiers impact the mouse gut microbiota promoting colitis and metabolic syndrome
“carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80, induced low-grade inflammation and obesity/metabolic syndrome in wild-type hosts and promoted robust colitis in mice predisposed to this disorder.”
doi.org
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Re-evaluation of carrageenan (E 407) and processed Eucheuma seaweed (E 407a) as food additives
“However, the Panel noted uncertainties as regards the chemistry, the exposure assessment and biological and toxicological data.”
doi.org
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Agents Classified by the IARC Monographs, Volumes 1–142 (List of Classifications)
monographs.iarc.who.int
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ecfr.gov
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“E 127 Erythrosine 200 only cocktail cherries and candied cherries”
eur-lex.europa.eu