May 31, 2012
Shopping Guide to Avoiding Organic Foods with Carrageenan
Important note: This is a preliminary review that will be updated in early June, and on a continual basis until our research is complete. Please check back for additional brand listings of products manufactured with and without carrageenan.
[Updated Guide here.]
Carrageenan, a seaweed derivative used as a stabilizer and thickener in foods, has been found to be contaminated with a substance (degraded carrageenan) that is classified by the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer as a “possible human carcinogen.” Research funded by the National Institutes of Health raises serious concerns about harmful effects of carrageenan as an inflammatory agent on the human gastrointestinal tract.
Individuals suffering from chronic gastrointestinal symptoms have reported that their symptoms disappeared when they cut carrageenan out of their diets. Note: We ask consumers whose problems with ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome or other inflammatory gastrointestinal disease were resolved by removing carrageenan from their diets to please contact us.
To read Cornucopia’s in-depth analysis of the scientific literature pointing to serious human health impacts of food-grade carrageenan, please click here.
Dairy
| Chocolate Milk with Carrageenan | Chocolate Milk without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Cottage Cheese with Carrageenan | Cottage Cheese without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Cream with Carrageenan | Cream without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Eggnog with Carrageenan | Eggnog without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Ice Cream with Carrageenan | Ice Cream without Carrageenan |
| Commonly found in conventional ice cream. |
|
| Kefir with Carrageenan | Kefir without Carrageenan |
| Commonly found in conventional kefir |
|
| Shelf-Stable Milk with Carrageenan (“milk boxes”) | Shelf-Stable Milk without Carrageenan (“milk boxes”) |
|
|
| Sour Cream with Carrageenan | Sour Cream without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Yogurt with Carrageenan | Yogurt without Carrageenan |
|
|
Dairy Alternatives — many of these popular brands are “natural” (conventional) and therefore not organic
| Almond milk with Carrageenan | Almond milk without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Soymilk with Carrageenan | Soymilk without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Chocolate soymilk with Carrageenan | Chocolate soymilk without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Frozen dessert (non-dairy) with Carrageenan | Frozen dessert (non-dairy) without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Soy creamer with Carrageenan | Soy creamer without Carrageenan |
|
|
| Rice milk with Carrageenan | Rice milk without Carrageenan |
|
|
Deli Meat
| Deli Meat with Carrageenan | Deli Meat without Carrageenan |
|
|
Juice
| Juice with Carrageenan | Juice without Carrageenan |
|
|
This is a preliminary review. More brands and information will be added in the future. Please either sign up for membership in The Cornucopia Institute, or our free electronic newsletter list, for further updates. If you come across organic products and/or brands utilizing carrageenan that are not yet listed, please forward specific information to us by emailing [email protected]
