E407 — Carrageenan
Also labelled: Carrageen · Irish moss extract
Carrageenan comes from seaweed and has been eaten for centuries, but the scientific argument is about a technical distinction most coverage skips: food-grade carrageenan versus its degraded low-molecular-weight form. EFSA kept the ADI in 2018 while flagging that it could not fully resolve that question.
At a glance
- E number
- E407
- Class
- Thickener, gelling agent, stabiliser
- Origin
- Extracted from red seaweed
- EU status
- Authorised; not permitted in infant formula in the EU
- Acceptable daily intake
- 75 mg per kg of body weight per day (EFSA, 2018)
- Typically found in
- Plant milks, cream, chocolate milk, processed cheese, deli meats, desserts
What it actually is
Carrageenan is a family of polysaccharides extracted from red seaweeds, traditionally Irish moss. It has been used in Ireland to set milk puddings since long before it had an E number.
It is prized industrially because it interacts with milk protein, so it can hold cocoa in suspension in chocolate milk or stop plant milks from separating, at very low concentrations.
The distinction that matters
Two related substances get confused constantly. Food-grade carrageenan is a high-molecular-weight polysaccharide that is largely not absorbed. Degraded carrageenan, also called poligeenan, is produced by harsh acid treatment, has much lower molecular weight, and is not permitted as a food additive. Poligeenan is what caused intestinal inflammation and lesions in the animal studies most frequently cited by critics.
The unresolved question is whether food-grade carrageenan contains, or generates during digestion, enough low-molecular-weight material to matter. That is the specific issue EFSA has been unable to close.
Where regulators landed
EFSA re-evaluated carrageenan in 2018. It retained an ADI of 75 mg per kg of body weight but described it as temporary, identified data gaps, and recommended a specification limiting the low-molecular-weight fraction. It also noted that exposure in infants and toddlers consuming products containing it could approach the limit.
Carrageenan is not permitted in infant formula in the EU — a restriction that reflects caution about the youngest consumers rather than a finding of harm in adults.
How Frela scores it
Frela rates E407 moderate risk, reflecting a genuinely open scientific question rather than a settled finding in either direction.
Carrageenan shows up in a lot of otherwise reasonable products — unsweetened plant milks in particular — so it is one of the additives most likely to pull down the score of something you would not think of as junk. The breakdown always names the additive responsible, so you can decide whether you agree with the weighting.
Common questions
Should I avoid carrageenan in plant milk?
That depends on how you weigh an unresolved question. Many brands have moved to gellan gum or simply shake-before-use formulations, so alternatives are easy to find if you would rather not.
Is it the same as the carrageenan in the scary studies?
Usually not. Most of those studies used degraded carrageenan (poligeenan), which is not a permitted food additive. Whether food-grade material behaves similarly is the actual open question.
Is seaweed-derived the same as safe?
No, and it is worth being explicit: natural origin says nothing about physiological effect. Frela rates by evidence, not provenance.
Sources
- EFSA — Re-evaluation of carrageenan (E407) and processed Eucheuma seaweed (E407a) (2018)
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 — specifications for food additives
Last reviewed:
