Description
Carrageenan is an extract from a red seaweed commonly known as Irish Moss. This edible seaweed is native to the British Isles, where it’s been used in traditional cooking for hundreds of years. It’s also widely used in the food industry, mostly as a thickener and gelling agent.
- Food and other domestic uses
- Desserts, carrageen, ice cream, cream, milkshakes, yogurts, salad dressings, sweetened condensed milks
- Sauces: to increase viscosity
- Beer: clarifier to remove haze-causing proteins
- Pâtés and processed meats (e.g., ham): substitute for fat, increase water retention, increase volume, or improve slicing
- Toothpaste: stabilizer to prevent constituents separating
- Fruit Gushers: ingredient in the encapsulated gel
- Firefighting foam: thickener to cause foam to become sticky
- Shampoo and cosmetic creams: thickener
- Air freshener gels
- Marbling: the ancient art of paper and fabric marbling uses a carrageenan mixture on which to float paints or inks; the paper or fabric is then laid on it, absorbing the colours
- Shoe polish: to increase viscosity
- Biotechnology: to immobilize cells and enzymes
- Pharmaceuticals: used as an inactive excipient in pills and tablets
- Soy milk and other plant milks: to thicken
- Diet sodas: to enhance texture and suspend flavours
- Pet food
- Personal lubricants
- Vegetarian hot dogs
| Sr.No. | Tests | Specifications | Result |
| 1 | Description | White Powder | Complies |
| 2 | Solubility | Soluble in water giving a viscous or
colloidal solution, insoluble in organic solvents |
Complies |
| 3 | Mesh Size | Should be between between 80-100 mesh | Complies |
| 4 | Loss on drying | NMT 12.0 % | 6 % |
| 5 | Total Ash | NMT 40.0 % | complies |
| 6 | pH | Between 7-10 | 8.34 |
| 7 | Gel Strength (1.5% Solution in water @20oC) |
>1100 gm/cm2 | 1170 gm/cm2 |
| 8 | Viscosity @ 1.5% conc. In water
@ 45 deg C Spindle 1 / 80 RPM |
55-70 cps | 56.5 cp |
| 9 | Plate Count | Should be below 5000 | complies |
| 10 | Yeast and molds | Max of 300 cfu/g | complies |
| 11 | Salmonella | Absent in 25g | complies |
| 12 | E. Coli | Negative in 5g | complies |
| 13 | Heavy Metals | max. of 20 ppm | complies |
| 14 | Arseric | max of 3 ppm | complies |
| 15 | Lead | Max of 5 ppm | complies |
| 16 | Mercury | Max of 1 ppm | complies |
| 17 | Cadmium | Max of 2 ppm | complies |
