CarageenanReport-2016

8/18/2019 CarageenanReport-2016

1/50

Updated Report by The Cornucopia Institute | April 2016

Carrageenan New Studies Reinforce Link to Inflammation, Cancer and Diabetes


2/50

The Cornucopia Insiue wishes o hank Dr. Joanne Tobacman or her invaluable suppor in creainghis repor.

This repor was made possible by generous financial conribuions from:

Forres and Frances Latner Foundaion

Wallace Geneic Foundaion (original sudy unding)

And he housands o amily armers and heir “urban allies” who und our work wih heir generousdonaions.

The Cornucopia Insiue is dedicaed o he figh or economic jusice or he amily-scale arming com-

muniy. Through research and educaion, our goal is o empower armers and eaers in he good ood move-men, boh poliically and hrough markeplace iniiaives.

Cornucopia’s Organic Inegriy Projec acs as a corporae and governmenal wachdog, assuring ha nocompromises are made o he credibiliy o organic arming mehods and he ood i produces in he pur-sui o profi. We acively resis regulaory rollbacks and he weakening o organic sandards o proec andmainain consumer confidence in he organic ood label.

The Cornucopia Insiue

P.O. Box 126Cornucopia, WI 54827608-625-2000 voice866-861-2214 ax

[email protected]

Design and layou by Draf Horse Sudio | drafhorsesudio.comCover phoos source: isockphoo.com

Copyrigh © 2016, The Cornucopia Insiue


3/50

Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

A Summary of the Science on Carrageenan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Consumer Responses: Carrageenan & GI Symptoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Myths and Truths: Carrageenan in Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

What is Carrageenan Doing in Organic Food? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

NOSB 2018 Sunset Review of Carrageenan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Food Manufacturers’ Responses to Scientific Data about Carrageenan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Industry Confirms, then Hides Poligeenan in Food-grade Carrageenan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Consumers: Taking Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Appendix A: Scientific Findings 1969–2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Appendix B: Marinalg Working Group on Molecular Weight

Distribution Specification for Carrageenan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47


4/50

4 CARRAGEENAN: A CONTROVERSIAL “NATURAL” FOOD ADDITIVE


5/50

THE CORNUCOPIA INSTITUTE 5

Executive SummaryCARRAGEENAN IS A COMMON FOOD ADDITIVE exraced rom redseaweed. For he pas our decades, scieniss havewarned ha he use o carrageenan in ood is no sae.Animal sudies and in-viro sudies wih human cellshave repeaedly shown ha ood-grade carrageenan*causes gasroinesinal in-flammaion and higher

raes o inesinal lesions,ulceraions, and even ma-lignan umors. In ac,roughly 3,855 researchpapers show ha carra-geenan induces inflam-maion, mos o which eshe effeciveness o ani-in-flammaory drugs.1

In he pas decade, researchers have successully idenified sev-eral ways in which ood-grade carrageenan causes harm. Thechemical srucure o carrageenan—unique chemical bondsno ound in oher seaweeds or gums—affecs he body in sev-eral ways. Mos noably, i riggers an immune reacion, whichleads o inflammaion in he gasroinesinal sysem. Pro-longed inflammaion is a precursor o more serious diseases,including cancer.

What is carrageenan?Carrageenan is derived rom specific seaweeds, which are pro-cessed wih alkali ino a widely used “naural” ood ingredi-en. When processed wih acid insead o alkali, carrageenan

* In this report, we use the term “food-grade carrageenan” and “undegraded car-

rageenan” interchangeably, to distinguish it from “degraded carrageenan” which

has a low molecular weight and has been used in thousands of studies to pre-

dictably cause inflammation and disease in laboratory animals.

Carrageenan is a commonfood additive extracted from

red seaweed. It is often found

in chocolate milk, among

other processed foods and

beverages.

Animal studies have

repeatedly shown that

food-grade carrageenan

causes gastrointestinal

inflammation and higher

rates of intestinal lesions,

ulcerations, and even

malignant tumors.


6/50


is degraded o a low molecularweigh, and is called “degrad-ed carrageenan” or poligeen-an. Degraded carrageenan issuch a poen inflammaoryagen ha scieniss rouinelyuse i o induce inflammaionand oher disease in labora-

ory animals o es ani-in-flammaion drugs and oherpharmaceuicals.

Degraded carrageenan is noallowed in ood, bu scieniss have raised concerns or decadesha he use o ood-grade (undegraded) carrageenan also causesharm. A convincing body o scienific lieraure shows negaiveeffecs caused by ood-grade carrageenan. Moreover, scienissare concerned ha he acidic environmen o he somach mayacually “degrade” ood-grade carrageenan once i eners he di-gesive sysem, hus exposing he inesines o his poen and

widely recognized carcinogen.

These scienific findings, coupled wih he ood indusry’s exen-sive use o carrageenan, raise serious quesions or consumers.

Why is carrageenan in processed foods andbeverages?Though carrageenan adds no nuriional value or flavor o oods

or beverages, he ood indusry uses i in a wide variey o appli-caions; is unique chemical srucure makes i useul or sev-eral reasons.

Carrageenan serves as a sub-siue or a, and as a hick-ener o nona or low-a oodsor dairy replacemens. I rec-reaes a aty “mouheel”in producs such as low-aor nona dairy (e.g., low-acotage cheese, low-a sour

cream) and plan-based dairysubsiues (e.g., soy milk, co-conu milk).

Carrageenan can also serve as a sabilizer or beverages haseparae, and mus be sirred or shaken beore use o redisrib-ue he paricles. Addiion o carrageenan allows beverages likechocolae milk and nuriional shakes o be consumed wihoufirs shaking or sirring.

Which foods commonly containcarrageenan?

DAIRY: whipping cream,

chocolate milk, ice cream,

sour cream, cottage cheese,

“squeezable yogurt” marketed

to children

DAIRY ALTERNATIVES: soy milk,

almond milk, hemp milk, coco-nut milk, soy desserts, soy pud-

ding

MEATS: sliced turkey, prepared

chicken

NUTRITIONAL DRINKS:

examples include En-

sure™, SlimFast™,

Carnation Break-

fast Essentials™

and Orgain™

PREPARED FOODS:canned soup,

broth, microwave-

able dinners, fro-

zen pizza

SUPPLEMENTS:

chewable vitamins

Many individuals experiencing

gastrointestinal symptoms (ranging

from mild “belly bloat,” to irritable bowel

syndrome, to severe inflammatory

bowel disease) have noticed that

eliminating carrageenan from the diet

leads to profound improvements in their

gastrointestinal health.

Scientists are concerned

that the acidic environment

of the stomach may

“degrade” food-grade

carrageenan once it enters

the digestive system, thus

exposing the intestines

to this potent and widely

recognized carcinogen.

Though carrageenan adds no

nutritional value or flavor to

foods or beverages, the food

industry uses it in a wide

variety of applications.


7/50


Carrageenan is also used in meas, especially processed delimeas and prepared chicken. I is someimes injeced as a brinein precooked poulry o improve enderness and mainain juici-ness. I is added o low-sodium or low-a deli mea (e.g. slicedurkey) as a binder.

I is ound in many processed oods, even some cerified organ-ic rozen pizzas and nuriional bars. And, many varieies o

canned pe ood conain carrageenan.

Why is carrageenan harmful?The unique chemical srucure o carrageenan riggers an in-nae immune response in he body, recognizing i as a danger-ous invader. This immune response leads o inflammaion.

For individuals who consumecarrageenan on a regular or

daily basis, he inflammaionwill be prolonged and con-san, a serious healh concernas a precursor o more seriousdiseases. In ac, he medicalcommuniy has long recog-nized ha inflammaion is as-sociaed wih over 100 humandiseases, including inflamma-ory bowel disease, rheumaoid arhriis, and areriosclerosis.Inflammaion is also linked o cancer.

Many individuals experiencing gasroinesinal sympoms(ranging rom mild “belly bloa,” o irriable bowel syndrome,o severe inflammaory bowel disease) have noiced ha elimi-naing carrageenan rom he die leads o proound improve-mens in heir gasroinesinal healh.

Researchers are exploring oher ways in which carrageenan isharmul. Scieniss have recenly ound ha conac wih car-rageenan reduces he aciviy o cerain beneficial enzymes inhuman cells.2 And, a recen sudy exposing mice o carragee-nan in drinking waer showed impaired insulin acion andproound glucose inolerance—precursors o diabees.3

How long have scientists been concerned aboutthe use of carrageenan in food?Saring in he lae 1960s, research showed ha he ype o car-rageenan used in ood caused gasroinesinal disease in lab-oraory animals, including an ulceraive coliis–like disease,inesinal lesions, and colon cancer.

“The rising incidence and

prevalence of ulcerative colitis

across the globe is correlated

with the increased consumption

of processed foods, including

products containing carrageenan.

Since carrageenan has been foundto cause colitis in animal models

of ulcerative colitis we felt it

would be important to perform a

well-controlled dietary study to

determine whether carrageenan

causes exacerbations (flare ups)

of ulcerative colitis in patients in

clinical remission.”

—Dr. Stephen Hanauer, MD, Chief, Section of

Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition,and Joseph B. Kirsner, Professor of Medicine

and Clinical Pharmacology, University of

Chicago School of Medicine

“Carrageenan exposure clearly

causes inflammation; the amount

of carrageenan in food products is

sufficient to cause inflammation;

and degraded carrageenan and

food-grade carrageenan are bothharmful.”

—Dr. Joanne Tobacman, MD, Associate

Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of

Illinois at Chicago

“[Dr. Tobacman] explained that all

forms of carrageenan are capable

of causing inflammation. This is

bad news. We know that chronicinflammation is a root cause of

many serious diseases including

heart disease, Alzheimer’s and

Parkinson’s diseases, and cancer.

All told, I recommend avoiding

regular consumption of foods

containing carrageenan.”

— Dr. Andrew Weil

The unique chemical

structure of carrageenan

triggers an innate immune

response in the body, which

leads to inflammation, a

precursor to more serious

diseases.


8/50


In 1981, wo prominen researchers conduced a lieraure re-view o he science published since he lae 1960s, and raisedconcerns abou he widespread use o carrageenan in he die.The researchers wroe in he journal Cancer Deecion andPrevenion: “[U]ndegraded carrageenan is sill widely usedhroughou he world as a ood addiive. Is harmul effecs inanimals are almos cerainly associaed wih is degradaionduring passage hrough he gasroinesinal rac. There is a

need or exreme cauion in he use o carrageenan or carra-geenan-like producs as ood addiives in our die.” 4

In he wo decades beween 1981 and 2001, more published re-search sudies showed harmul effecs o consuming ood-grade carrageenan. In 2001, he official journal o he NaionalInsiue o Environmenal Healh Sciences, which is par ohe Naional Insiues o Healh, published a review o he sci-enific lieraure. Is auhor, Dr. Joanne Tobacman, concluded:“The widespread use o carrageenan in he Wesern die should

be reconsidered” due o evidence ha “exposure o undegradedas well as o degraded carrageenan was associaed wih he oc-

currence o inesinal ulceraions and neoplasms.” 6

Meanwhile, carrageenan manuacurers and he ood indusrycommissioned scieniss o perorm similar sudies.7 As is o

be expeced when a profiable indusry aces scienific scruinyrom publicly unded research, he carrageenan manuacur-ers and ood indusry even commissioned scieniss o publishcriicisms o he prior scienific findings poining o harm.8

In recen years, publicly unded scieniss have moved beyondanimal sudies, which repea-edly poin o harm, and have

conduced sudies using hu-man cell culures o ideniyhe biological mechanisms

by which carrageenan causesinflammaion. One o hesemechanisms has now beenidenified: a paricular im-mune pahway, acivaed byoher “naural” poisons, suchas pahogenic baceria (including Salmonella).9

In 2008, Dr. Tobacman, he auhor o he 2001 EnvironmenalHealh Perspecives review, urged he Food and Drug Admin-israion (FDA) o prohibi he use o carrageenan in ood. TheFDA, relying primarily on indusry-unded research and ail-ing o review addiional sudies published since 2008, deniedhe peiion in 2012.

Scieniss in oher counries as well have been urging regula-ors o ake acion or over hree decades. Bu, whenever govern-men agencies have raised concerns (especially in he European

“There is a need for extreme

caution in the use of carrageenan

or carrageenan-like products as

food additives in our diet.”5

—Written in 1981 by Dr. Raphael Marcus and

Dr. James Watt, Department of Pathology,University of Liverpool, United Kingdom

Since eliminating carrageenan from

my diet, I have had no problems

with stomach cramps, body aches

or extreme bloating. I am extremely

careful not to ingest even the

smallest amount, as it will cause me

hours of suffering.

—Kim DeLaroque, Warren, Manitoba, Canada

My wife always wondered why I

had diarrhea, and I just told her

it was normal and that I’d always

had it. These symptoms were from

carrageenan.

—Jeff Pokorny, Bend, Oregon

Before I identified carrageenan as

the cause of my symptoms, I was

afraid to go out anywhere, because

I never knew when I would be “hit”

with a sudden bout of diarrhea and

nausea.

—Diane Jordan, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

It is time for consumers to

take action and pressure the

food industry to remove this

harmful ingredient from our

food supply.


9/50


Union), hey have come under inense pressure rom he iner-naional rade-lobby group, Marinalg Inernaional, and romhe ood manuacuring indusry, o coninue allowing carra-geenan in ood.

I is ime or consumers o ake acion and pressure he ood in-dusry o remove his harmul ingredien rom our ood supply.

Who is affected by carrageenan?Many individuals who have lived or years, someimes decades,wih gasroinesinal discomor or disease—ranging rommild bloaing o serious ulceraive coliis—have noiced haeliminaing carrageenan rom he dies dramaically improvesheir gasroinesinal healh.

Bu he absence o noiceable gasroinesinal sympoms doesno signiy ha an individual is unaffeced by carrageenan. Re-

search shows carrageenan predicably causes inflammaion.Low-grade inflammaion o he inesines may go unnoiced;neverheless, chronic low-grade inflammaion in he body isprooundly unhealhy. Scieniss are increasingly concernedabou he negaive effecs o low-grade inflammaion on over-all healh, especially as i ofen leads o more serious diseasesdown he road.

“The episodes—which included

pain, nonstop throwing up, and

sweats/chills—were intolerable.

If I had not stopped ingesting

carrageenan, I would have

outrageous medical bills and be

unable to eat without fear of suchan episode.”

—Kyla L., Morgantown, West Virginia

“I no longer have Irritable Bowel

Syndrome flare ups and am now

able to do things I couldn’t do

previously. Before, I was afraid

to go on overnight camping trips,day canoeing trips, or Kendo

seminars, because the pain would

literally incapacitate me, and now,

after eliminating carrageenan from

my diet, it’s not an issue.”

—Katie M., St. Louis, Missouri


10/50



11/50


A Summary of the Science on Carrageenan

FOOD-GRADE CARRAGEENAN (“undegraded”) is disinguished rom “degraded” carrageenan, which hasa lower molecular weigh. For decades scieniss have used degraded carrageenan o induce gas-roinesinal inflammaion in laboraory animals in order o es he effeciveness o new ani-inflammaion drugs.10 11 12 13 14 This ype o carrageenan is specifically classified as a “possiblehuman carcinogen” by he Inernaional Agency or Research on Cancer o he Unied Naions.15

Food manuacurersclaim ha only de-graded carrageenanis harmul, and haood-grade carragee-nan is sae. Boh in-dependen scienissand he carrageenanmanuacurers’ owndaa16 have disprovedhis claim.

While pharmaceui-cal scieniss indeeduse non-ood-grade, degraded carrageenan o es

new pharmaceuicals, a separae rack o scienificinquiry has invesigaed ood-grade carrageenan oris effecs on human healh.

Since 1969, dozens o sudies o ood-grade carra-geenan have been published in peer-reviewed ac-ademic journals.† Resuls rom hese scienificexperimens, cied in Appendix A, unequivocallypoin o harmul effecs rom ood-grade carragee-nan in he die. Sudies rom he 1960s, 1970s, and1980s link ood-grade carrageenan o higher raeso digesive diseases, including colon cancer, in labo-

raory animals. In 2001, a review published in heofficial journal o he Naional Insiue o Environ-menal Healh Sciences quesioned he saey oood-grade carrageenan, based on an examinaiono he exan scienific lieraure.17

† Articles in peer-reviewed journals are accepted for publication only

after expert scientists, who were not involved in the study, have

reviewed them.

In response o ha 2001 review, scieniss se ou oexplore he ways in which carrageenan affecs he

body. As o he publishing o his repor, April 2016,researchers have idenified hree biological mecha-nisms by which ood-grade carrageenan negaive-ly affecs he human body. Numerous sudies have

Numerous studies

have been published

identifying carrageenan’sunique chemical

structure and how it

triggers an immune

response in the body,

which is similar to the

effects of pathogenic

bacteria like Salmonella.

In the colon, carrageenan activates Wnt signaling,

a group of signal transduction pathways made

of proteins that pass signals from outside of a cell

through cell surface receptors to the inside of the

cell. Carrageenan’s effect on Wnt signaling enables

uncontrolled proliferation and tumorigenesis with thepotential for polyp formation and colorectal cancer.


12/50


been published ideniying carrageenan’s uniquechemical srucure and how i riggers an immuneresponse in he body, which is similar o he effecs opahogenic baceria like Salmonella.18

Anoher concern is ha degraded carrageenan(poligeenan) is commonly ound in ood-grade car-rageenan. In response o a European Commission

reques19

o ensure ha conaminaion wih carcino-genic degraded carrageenan be kep o levels below5%, he carrageenan manuacurers esed sampleso ood-grade carrageenan a six differen laborao-ries.20 Tes resuls varied widely rom laboraory olaboraory, suggesing ha even he carrageenanmanuacurers have no reliable way o deermininghe levels o conaminaion wih degraded carragee-nan in heir ood-grade producs.21

Eigh o he 12 samples o ood-grade carrageenanconained higher han 5% degraded carrageenan, ac-

cording o a leas one o he laboraories. The high-es level o degraded carrageenan ound in a samplewas 25%. All samples conained a leas some de-graded carrageenan, according o he majoriy olaboraories.

No a single sample could confidenly claim o be en-irely ree o he maerial ha is classified as a “pos-sible human carcinogen.”

Ye, ood manuacurers are unwilling o replacehis convenien and useul sabilizing and hicken-

ing ingredien in heir processed oods or o be hon-es wih heir cusomers abou he scienific daapoining o harm. They cling o scienific knowl-edge abou carrageenan as i i were 1968, he year

beore he firs sudy was published showing higherraes o ulceraive coliis–like diseases in ras givenood-grade carrageenan in he die.

Carrageenan used in pharmaceuical sudies isdegraded wih he use o acid hydrolysis.22 Whahappens o carrageenan in he somach’s acidic en-

vironmen? Researchers have suggesed ha aciddigesion may degrade carrageenan, so ha i es-senially ransorms ino a carcinogenic subsance

by he ime i reaches he inesines. Several sudiesha subjeced ood-grade carrageenan o condiionssimilar o hose ound in he human somach haveound ha some degradaion occurs.23, 24, 25

Furher research coninues. An ongoing sudy wihulceraive coliis paiens a he Universiy o Chica-go and he Universiy o Illinois a Chicago aims oshed ligh on he effecs o carrageenan in he die ongasroinesinal disease.26 Addiional sudies cur-renly underway are examining he link beweenood-grade carrageenan and diabees.27,28 Clinicalrepors ideniying sympoms in individuals are be-coming more common.29 The effecs o carrageenanon insulin resisance is currenly being sudied byT.W. Jung, S.Y. Lee, and H.C. Hong.30 The induciono diabees by carrageenan in an animal model is be-

ing sudied by H.S. Baek and J.W. Yoon (1991).31

The structure of carrageenans include alternating

α-1,3 and β-1,4 glycosidic bonds and sulfations of

carbons of alternating galactose residues. Research

shows that the inflammatory response initiated by

carrageenan may be due to exposure to alpha-gal

bonds (galactose- α -1,3- galactose).


13/50


Consumer Responses:

Carrageenan & GI SymptomsINDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE SUFFERED or years rom undiagnosed gasroinesinal sympoms—abdomi-nal bloaing, spasic colon, irriable bowel syndrome, and diagnosed diseases, such as ulceraivecoliis—ofen find relie when hey eliminae carrageenan rom heir die.

The Cornucopia Insiue developed an online quesionnaire or individuals who have eliminaed carra-geenan rom heir die, in an effor o improve heir gasroinesinal healh. In he firs hree years, 1,397disinc individuals compleed he survey and checked eiher “gasroinesinal sympoms compleely disap-peared” or “gasroinesinal sympoms improved” afer eliminaing carrageenan rom heir die.

Responses o he online quesionnaire are shared wih medical researchers, and are confidenial. The ol-lowing individuals agreed o share heir sories:

“Beore I knew abou carrageenan, I suffered remendous somach cramps, body aches and exreme bloaing romeaing cerain oods, sandwich mea, ice cream, ec. My sympoms would las or a minimum o 24 hours, someimeslasing or 48 hours. I had several exploraory procedures done o see i I had a blockage somewhere in my inesi-nal rac. I sared o record a ood journal and a lis o ingrediens o everyhing I ae, and suddenly discovered mysympoms were caused solely by carrageenan.

“Since eliminaing carrageenan, I have had no problems wih somach cramps, body aches or exreme bloaing. I amexremely careul no o inges even he smalles amoun, as i will cause me hours o suffering. I am exremely sric

abou he producs I purchase, and afer having researched he errible effecs o his awul ingredien, I have akenexra precauions ha my our children do no inges anyhing ha conains carrageenan.”

Kimberly DeLaroqueWarren, Manioba, Canada

“I learned ha carrageenan was bad bu was no ye aware o wha he sympoms were rom exposure. Upon learn-ing ha i affeced he lower GI, and upon recognizing ha my eliminaion o sympoms coincided wih my elimina-ion o carrageenan rom my die, i became clear ha i was likely more han coincidence ha hese sympoms were

rom carrageenan.

“My wie always wondered why I had diarrhea, and I jus old her i was normal and ha I’d always had i. She alsowondered why I deecaed so requenly (3-6 imes per day). Now I’m down o 1-2. Damn he corporaions ha pu his

junk in our ood and pass i along as hough i’s oally sae and ‘made rom seaweed.’”

Jeff PokornyBend, Oregon


14/50


“I wroe exensive ood journals or a leas a year—wha I ae, he ingrediens, and he effecs which occurred. Therewere several Emergency Room visis where I didn’ know wha was wrong, and I needed fluids and someimes medi-caion because I couldn’ sop vomiing. I was painul, and I became severely dehydraed. I had several ess doneincluding a barium upper GI and a gasroinesinal nuclear scan. Those ess came ou OK, bu he barium drinkused or he x-rays had carrageenan and I was vomiing prousely afer ingesion (since I had o as) and i occurred

prety much as soon as he drink hi my small bowel. A he poin o his es, I realized wha had o be he cause o myGI disress—mosly due o he ood journals commonaliy, bu also ha precise momen. Discovering his reacionwas a long, horrible process and I el like my own science experimen every ime I ae.

“The episodes—which included pain, nonsop hrowing up, and sweas/chills—were inolerable. I I had no soppedingesing carrageenan, I would have ourageous medical bills and be unable o ea wihou ear o such an episode.”

Kyla L.,

Morganown, Wes Virginia

“I discovered ha carrageenan caused my gasroinesinal sympoms afer correlaing my somach upses wihhe consumpion o ice cream and prepared coffee shop drinks. Since I was no lacose inoleran, I sared looking

or common ingrediens and noiced carrageenan in he ice cream, creamer and coffee shop s moohies. When I re-moved hings wih carrageenan rom my die, here were no more problems.

“I no longer have Irriable Bowel Syndrome flare ups and am now able o do hings I couldn’ do previously. Beore, Iwas araid o go on overnigh camping rips, day canoeing rips, or Kendo seminars, because he pain would lieral-ly incapaciae me, and now i’s no an issue.”

Kaie M.,S. Louis, Missouri

“Beore I idenified carrageenan as he cause o my sympoms, I was araid o go ou anywhere, because I never knewwhen I would be ‘hi’ wih a sudden bou o diarrhea and nausea . Had no idea wha was wrong wih me. I was evensaring o have anxiey atacks over my healh.

“Now ha I have eliminaed carrageenan rom my die, I can finally lead a normal lie. I can enjoy mysel again,

no araid o ravel, ge on an airplane, bus or rain. No more eeling nausea or having diarrhea almos every day.

“I don’ rus any oods wih cream, soups, ec., and will no ry any sauces. I am sill very nervous abou wha I ea,bu wha a difference his has made on my lie.”

Diane JordanOtawa, Onario, Canada


15/50


Myths and Truths: Carrageenan in Food

MYTH: Carrageenan is natural and therefore safe.

TRUTH: No all naural subsances are sae. Manyspecies o plans and seaweed conain subsancesha are very poen, eiher as medicine or poison.Oher “naural” maerials wih powerul effecs onhe human body include obacco, poison ivy, andrhubarb leaves, which are poisonous.

Carrageenan has a unique chemical srucure haleads o prolonged inflammaion and oher negaivehealh effecs. Is effec on he body is similar o heeffec o cerain pahogenic baceria such as Salmo-nella, which are also “naural.”

The healh impacs rom consuming ood-gradecarrageenan are well documened in he scienificlieraure (see Appendix A).

MYTH: Food processors only use undegraded

carrageenan, which is safe.

TRUTH: In recen decades researchers concernedwih he effecs o carrageenan in he die have usedundegraded, ood-grade carrageenan. These sudiespoin o harmul effecs.

When he carrageenan manuacurers’ rade groupesed 12 samples o ood-grade carrageenan, iound every sample was considered conaminaedwih degraded carrageenan (classified as a “possi-

ble human carcinogen”) by a leas one o he esinglaboraories. Food processors have an ehical obliga-ion o heir cusomers o ake hese es resuls seri-ously. Their claims ha ood-grade carrageenan issae canno be backed by recen scienific sudies oroher es resuls.

MYTH: The controversy around carrageenan is

due to the work and activism of one scientist.

TRUTH: This is an especially siniser myh aimeda discrediing a publicly unded, independen re-searcher. These claims, perpeuaed by corporaeagribusiness and rade lobbyiss, reer o Dr. JoanneTobacman, a Harvard-educaed physician-scien-

is who is a researcher and associae proessor ahe naion’s larges medical school, he Universiyo Illinois a Chicago. The majoriy o her publica-ions have been unded by he Naional Insiueso Healh and he Veerans Adminisraion’s Mer-i Grans. She has also received financial assis-ance rom he Broad Medical Foundaion, a privaeoundaion ha seeks o advance scienific under-sanding abou gasroinesinal diseases, and heAmerican Diabees Associaion.

Singling ou independen scieniss who have he

moral courage o speak ou, and paining heir workas an aberraion rom he dominan scienific par-adigm, is a popular acic wih corporaions whoare unwilling o accep scienific evidence ha heproducs hey sell are harmul.

However, while a popular acic, i is a weak deenseo carrageenan, since i has no basis in realiy. Con-cern abou he use o carrageenan in ood began inhe 1970s, hree decades beore Dr. Joanne Tobac-man became involved.

Beore Dr. Tobacman’s 2001 review aricle, dozenso sudies by numerous differen eams o scienisshad raised concern abou carrageenan. Scienissrom he ollowing insiuions have been involved,or are currenly involved, in sudying he harmuleffecs o carrageenan: Universiy o Chicago Medi-cal School, Sorbonne Universiy (France), Universi-y o Iowa, Universiy o Liverpool (UK), MichiganSae Universiy, and Rensselaer Polyechnic Insi-


16/50


ue., Universiy o Tuebingen (Germany), Louisian-na Sae Universiy School o Medicine, Division oEndocrinology and Meabolism, Deparmen o In-ernal Medicine a he Korea Universiy Guro Hos-pial, Universiy o Massachusets Medical School,and Technion Israel Insiue o Technology.

Sudies by hese auhors were all peer-reviewed, re-

viewed by oher scieniss who examined researchmehodology and he validiy o conclusions. Sud-ies were published in differen journals a differenimes, which means hey were scruinized by differ-en ediors and reviewers.

To claim ha one researcher is responsible or heconroversy may be a useul sound bie or hosewishing o deend carrageenan, bu i is an inaccu-rae and weak deense o carrageenan’s saey. The

body o lieraure, auhored by numerous scieniss,calling ou carrageenan as a possible hrea o hu-

man healh daes back well ino he 1960s.

MYTH: Scientific studies pointing to

carrageenan’s harmful effects have been

discredited.

TRUTH: Scieniss have been employed or commis-sioned by carrageenan manuacurers and he oodindusry o deend he coninued use o carrageenan,and hey do indeed criicize, and atemp o discred-i, he sudies poining o carrageenan’s harmul e-ecs.

Afer wo Universiy o Liverpool scieniss pub-lished a review sudy and wo leters in The Lancein 1980 and 1981, he journal published a leter in re-sponse, deending he saey o carrageenan. Theleter’s auhor was Herber J. Saret, a Vice Presi-den a Mead Johnson, a corporaion ha manuac-ures inan ormula, including ready-o-eed inanormula conaining carrageenan.32

Afer he publicaion o Dr. Joanne Tobacman’s2001 review, he journal Environmenal Healh Per-specives published a leter criicizing he sudy;he leter’s auhor was an employee o Unilever,33 aDuch-based mulinaional corporaion wih $18 bil-lion in annual ood sales. Unilever owns Slimas,™a nuriional drink ha conains carrageenan.34

Sudies cied by he ood indusry, used o reue pub-licly unded sudies, have been, or he mos par,perormed by corporae scieniss. These sudieshave been perormed by scieniss a FMC Corpora-ion, a $3.4 billion chemical corporaion and leadingcarrageenan manuacurer,35 and San-Ei Gen FFI,Inc., a Japanese company ha markes carragee-nan, in addiion o oher ood addiives, such as ari-

ficial sweeeners and colors.36

In conras, wihin publicly unded, universiy-affil-iaed scienific circles, concerns abou he harmuleffecs o boh degraded and undegraded carragee-nan are aken very seriously.

As jus one example, in 2011, researchers a he Har-vard School o Public Healh wroe: “[Sudies] sug-ges ha boh naive [i.e. undegraded] and degradedcarrageenan may have a pronounced effec on heexerion o an inflammaory pressure on colonic

mucosal cells including colonic epihelial cells andmonocyes/macrophages.”37

MYTH: Carrageenan is safe because the Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) allows its use,

and rejected a citizen’s petition by a preeminent

researcher requesting carrageenan’s removal

from our food supply.

FACT: The FDA allows he use o arificial sweeen-ers such as asparame, synheic ood dyes (arificialcolors), and geneically engineered oods, despie sci-enific research quesioning he saey o hese in-grediens.

When he FDA declared in 2012‡ ha i would no

‡ It is not unusual for the FDA to take four years to respond to a

citizen petition. In fact, many petitions have languished with the

agency for much longer. Since the FDA denial letter came justweeks after the NOSB vote on carrageenan, which raised public

awareness about carrageenan’s health concerns, it seems likely

that the carrageenan industry exerted pressure on the FDA to

move forward with denying the citizen petition. Cornucopia has

filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the FDA to deter-

mine what, if any, role corporate lobbyists played in the regulatory

agency’s decision.


17/50


ac on he ciizen peiion requesing o disconinuehe use o carrageenan in ood, he agency did noperorm a horough analysis o he scienific liera-ure. Dozens o sudies poining o poenial harmuleffecs o ood-grade carrageenan were never ideni-fied or considered by he FDA beore i reached isconclusion ha “he exising lieraure does no pro-vide suppor or [he] requesed acion.” The FDA’s

leter conained weny ciaions, including onlyone addiional sudy ha poins o harm. The agen-cy seemingly cherry-picked, considering researchperormed and unded by he carrageenan/ood in-dusry, while ignoring disurbing publicly unded,peer-reviewed sudies.

Considering he size o he indusry ha profis romeiher he manuacure o carrageenan or is use inoods and beverages, indusry rade lobby groupswill likely figh or coninued FDA approval. Since,given is rack record, i is unlikely ha he FDA

will ac in he public’s ineres in he near uure, iis up o consumers o proec hemselves and heiramilies, careully read labels, and sop buying oodsconaining carrageenan. This will pressure he oodindusry o make changes volunarily, as happenedwih rans as and “pink slime” (a ood ingredienused as a filler in ground bee, conaining mea resi-dues and animicrobial chemicals).

MYTH: Carrageenan is safe because otherregulatory agencies, including the European

Union, allow it in food.

TRUTH: Poining o regulaory agencies is anohercommon acic used by agribusiness and bioechnol-ogy corporaions o deend heir producs.

Many ood subsances ha are recognized by hemedical and scienific communiies o be harmulare allowed by regulaory agencies overseas, includ-

ing rans as, arificial sweeeners like asparame,and synheic ood dyes ha have been linked oneurological harm in children. Claiming an ingre-dien is sae because i is allowed in oher counriesis a convenien acic because i avoids a discussionabou scienific daa.

In ac, no single regulaory auhoriy has unequivo-cally pronounced carrageenan o be sae, alhoughevery decision is ineviably celebraed by he car-

rageenan manuacurers as indispuable “proo” ocarrageenan’s harmlessness.

When he Unied Naion’s Join FAO/WHO ExperCommitee on Food Addiives (JECFA) reviewedcarrageenan and approved is coninued use, hecarrageenan rade group Marinalg hailed he de-cision as confirmaion o carrageenan’s saey.38 In

ac, he commitee had raised concerns. An excerprom he JECFA 68h meeing:

A recen in viro sudy indicaes ha carrageenan (wih an average molecular weigh o 1000 kDa) in-duces inflammaion in human inesinal epihelialcells in culure hrough a Bc110-mediaed pahway haleads o NF ␣ B and IL-8. Carrageenan may be immuno-genic owing o is unusual 1,3-galacosidic link, whichis par o is disaccharide uni srucure. This sudysuggess ha carrageenan migh have a role in in-esinal inflammaion and possibly inflammaory

bowel disease, since Bc110 resembles NOD2 (he gene

ha acivaes NF ␣ B), o which some muaions are as-sociaed wih geneic suscepibiliy o Crohn disease (Borhakur e al., 2007)

One new sudy conduced in mice showed ha carra-geenan enhanced he umorigeniciy o a carcino-gen , MNU, confirming he resuls o sudies previouslyevaluaed by he Commitee a is fify-sevenh meeing.

Prolieraive and inflammaory effecs were ob-served in one new sudy in mice adminisered kappa-carrageenan in he drinking-waer a concenraions o1% and 4%.39

[Emphasis added]Despie hese concerns, JECFA allows he use ocarrageenan.

When he European Commission’s Scienific Com-mitee on Food reviewed saey daa on carragee-nan, hey concluded ha ood-grade carrageenan isno sae unless he amoun o degraded carrageenanis kep o a minimum.

The commitee declared ha levels o degradedcarrageenan in ood-grade carrageenan should be

kep a levels below 5%.40 This decision prompedhe laboraory esing o ood-grade carrageenan byhe indusry, which revealed ha no ood-grade car-rageenan sample could confidenly be shown o beree rom degraded carrageenan a concenraions

below 5%. Resuls rom his esing have been re-moved rom he inerne, bu available below in Ap-pendix B.

Carrageenan manuacurers have an inernaional


18/50


rade lobby group, Marinalg Inernaional, wih amission o deending he worldwide use o carragee-nan in oods. Through Marinalg, carrageenan man-uacurers employ proessional lobbyiss chargedwih ensuring ha regulaory agencies coninue al-lowing carrageenan in ood.

The decisions by overseas regulaory agencies (as

well as he U.S. FDA) o coninue o allow use o car-rageenan in ood esiy o he power and clou o hecarrageenan manuacurers’ lobbyiss, no o hesaey o carrageenan.

MYTH: For some products, like soy milk, there

are no alternatives to carrageenan for food

processors.

TRUTH: On supermarke shelves, equivalen prod-ucs appear side-by-side, some conaining carra-geenan and ohers wihou i. Food processors usegums, including guar gum and locus bean gum, as

alernaives o carrageenan. Ohers wrie “ShakeWell” on he package,41 since he simples alerna-ive o carrageenan in producs such as chocolaemilk is o have heconsumer shakehe produc righ

beore use.

Oher gums usedas sabilizers andhickening agensdo no share heunique chemicalsrucure o car-rageenan, andhereore do no raise he same healh concerns. In1988, Food and Drug Adminisraion researcherscompared damage o he colon in ras given carra-geenan and given guar gum as an alernaive. Theresearchers ound damage o he ras given carra-

geenan, bu no damage o he ras given guar gumin he die.42

The Cornucopia Institute

has a consumer guide on its

website (www.cornucopia.

org, under the Scorecards

tab) that provides a list of

products with and without

carrageenan.


19/50


What is Carrageenan Doing in Organic Food?

ORGANIC FOODS SHOULD BE A SAFE HAVEN rom harmul ingrediens. In ac, he Organic Foods Pro-

ducion Ac o 1990, he law governing organic oods, requires ha non-agriculural ingredi-

ens mus be deermined sae o human healh and no deleerious o he environmen beore

hey can be added o organic oods.43 Federal organic sandards also require ha nonorganic

ingrediens mus be essenial o producing he ood (e.g., baking powder or producing organic

cookies).44 Since nearly every produc on sore shelves conaining carrageenan can be ound by

anoher manuacurer using an alernaive o carrageenan (e.g., locus bean gum, guar gum),

carrageenan does no appear o be an essenial ood-processing ingredien.

Ye carrageenan, anonorganic, non-ag-riculural ingredien,made is way ino or-ganic oods due ocarelessness by gov-ernmen regulaors,misinormaion sup-plied by corporae “in-dependen” scienissadvising he USDA,

and successul lobby-ing by carrageenanmanuacurers andood processors.

For he pas wo de-cades, ood indusry execuives and lobbyiss havemanaged o convince enough members o he Na-ional Organic Sandards Board (NOSB)—heciizen panel ha deermines which non-organic in-grediens can be used in organic oods—o give car-rageenan is samp o approval. Their acics have

become increasingly more manipulaive and ehi-cally quesionable as i becomes clearer ha scien-ific evidence is no on heir side.

The NOSB firs approved carrageenan in he mid-1990s. As required by law, he USDA had hiredhree “independen” conracors o perorm a hor-ough scienific and echnical review o he addiive.Their job was o provide an independen review, in-cluding any concerns abou he addiive’s effecs on

human healh or he environmen. In heir officialrepors o he NOSB, he hree conracors assuredha no “effecs on human healh” had been ideni-fied.

One o he hree “independen” conracors was Dr.Richard Theuer, a ormer corporae execuive whohad been a colleague a Mead Johnson o Dr. Her-

ber Saret, he auhor o he leter published in TheLance deending he saey o carrageenan in ood.Anoher conracor was Sephen Harper, a ood sci-

enis a Small Plane Foods, which is now owned byhe muli-billion-dollar corporaion General Mills.The hird conracor was an academic. The hreescieniss claimed hey had ound no sudies rais-ing concern abou carrageenan’s effecs on humanhealh.45 The NOSB, unaware o he concerns abouhis ood addiive, approved carrageenan or use inorganics.

The NOSB voed on wheher o relis carrageenanas an approved subsance in organic oods a ismeeing in May 2012. Cornucopia saff members

were presen a he meeing and urged he NOSBo remove carrageenan rom he lis o approvedaddiives. Meanwhile, indusry lobbyiss presen-ed misinormaion abou carrageenan’s saey andquesioned he credibiliy o independen researchcommissioned by he Naional Insiues o Healh.

One o he NOSB members ook an acive role inassising he carrageenan manuacurers. A onepoin, she read lenghy excerps rom a documen

Carrageenan made its

way into organic foods

due to carelessness by

government regulators,

misinformation

supplied by corporate

“independent” scientists

advising the USDA, and

successful lobbying

by carrageenan

manufacturers and food

processors.


20/50


writen by Marinalg, hecarrageenan manuac-urers’ rade lobby group,deending he saey o car-rageenan. Bu, beore read-ing hese lenghy excerps,he Board member inro-duced he excerps as “be-

ing rom JECFA, a UniedNaions/FAO body” when,in ac, hey were wri-en by he indusry’s lobbygroup.

I is unclear wheher his board member inenion-ally misled her ellowNOSB members, or wheh-er she hersel was misled

by he carrageenan man-

uacurers’ lobbyiss wihwhom she collaboraed.However, when his well-documened error was

brough o her atenion,she reused o correc hepublic record.

During he meeing, sci-eniss wih differen per-specives presened oralesimonies. A scienis

rom FMC Corporaion, amuli-billion-dollar chem-ical corporaion ha alsomanuacures pesicides and indusrial chemicals,in addiion o carrageenan, deended carrageen-an’s saey. A scienis represening Marinalg In-ernaional, he rade lobby group or carrageenanmanuacurers, also deended carrageenan. Mean-while, Dr. Joanne Tobacman, employed by he na-ion’s larges medical school, presened publicaionsha were unded primarily by public insiuions,

including he Naional In-siues o Healh, and urgedhe removal o carrageenanrom organic oods and bev-erages. The NOSB voed, bya one-voe margin, o reap-prove he use o carrageenanin organic oods.§

Sadly, even one o he NOSBmembers who was appoinedas a “public ineres/consum-er” represenaive voed o ap-prove carrageenan, despiesrong opposiion rom everypublic ineres and consumergroup.

Several NOSB members wihclear conflics o ineres voed

o approve carrageenan aferhey ailed o recuse hemselvesrom voing, as he NOSB’spolicies require. One Boardmember who voed in avor ocarrageenan was employed byWhole Foods Marke, whichproduces and markes a wide va-riey o producs conaining car-rageenan under is 365 Organic

brand. Anoher NOSB memberwho voed in avor o carragee-

nan was employed by OrganicValley, which uses carrageenanin several o is producs. In ac,

prior o he meeing, he CEO o Organic Valleyspoke direcly wih several NOSB members o lobbyor carrageenan’s approval and, during he meeing,a represenaive o he company presened ormalesimony asking or carrageenan’s coninued use.

§ According to federal law, synthetics and non-organic ingredients

used in organics “sunset” every five years unless the NOSB votes

to reapprove their use.

The easy alternative to

carrageenan: shake the product before

drinking.


21/50


NOSB 2018 Sunset Review of Carrageenan

FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES THE NOSB o review all synheic and non-organic maerials approved or usein organics every five years o deermine wheher hey sill qualiy under he Organic FoodsProducion Ac (OFPA) o 1990. In order or he maerial o be mainained on he Naional Liso Allowed and Prohibied Subsances in organic producion, each maerial mus be evaluaedagains all hree OFPA crieria: 1) impac on human healh and he environmen; 2) essenialiyo organic producion; and, 3) compaibiliy and consisency wih OFPA.

Carrageenan will be reviewed a boh 2016 NOSBmeeings or Sunse in 2018. The voe or carrageen-

an’s 2018 sunse will occur a he November, 2016meeing. Cornucopia has concerns ha he pub-lished scienific research on carrageenan is no be-ing presened accuraely o he NOSB in he 2016limied scope Technical Evaluaion Repor (TR).There are addiional concerns wih he review con-duced by he handling subcommitee. Our con-cerns wih hese documens are as ollows:

1. The 2016 TR ails o discuss he undispued ac hadegraded carrageenan is presen wihin ood-gradecarrageenan. Atemps by he indusry o reliablymeasure he amoun o degraded carrageenan inood-grade carrageenan were posed online and re-suls proved ha poligeenan is presen in ood-gradecarrageenan. Forunaely, The Cornucopia Insiuedownloaded hese documens beore hey were subse-quenly removed by he indusry lobby (Appendix B).

2. Mos o he posiions aken by regulaory agencieshave been influenced by indusry-unded reporsabou carrageenan. These are ofen based on a sin-gle sudy in which criical poins are obuscaed. Asan example, he recen inan pig eeding sudy, 46 on which he Join FAO/WHO Exper Commiteeon Food Addiives (JECFA) parially based is deci-

sion, here were several flaws including: 1) use o in-an pigs in which he innae immune response ocarrageenan is expeced o be less han in humans,since pigs make he alpha-1,3-galacosylranseraseenzyme and he galacose-alpha-1,3-galacose bondo carrageenan is no immunogenic in he pig; 2) on-se o he sudy was afer ingesion o maernal co-losrum and maernal eeding or an unspecified,and variable number o days in he sudy animals;3) anibioics and iron supplemens were given pri-

or o and hroughou he 28-day carrageenan eed-ing; 4) several “incidenal” deahs occurred wihno explanaion; 5) sof and/or waery eces were in-creased in he carrageenan-reaed animals; 6) gly-cosuria occurred in 4 o he 12 animals ha received2250 ppm carrageenan; 7) recal weigh was signifi-canly reduced in males ha received 2250 ppm car-rageenan; 8) weighs, which were repored wihouranges or sandard deviaions, were unusually high(all over 10 kg) a Sudy Day 28, suggesing ha heanimals were a leas 5 weeks old, and hereore hadenered he sudy closer o he age o weaning, ex-peced o be a day 19.4 afer birh; 9) hisopahologydemonsraes differences beween conrol and carra-geenan-reaed issues, including increased inflam-

maory infilrae in he lamina propria and reducedcolonic hausraions; and, 10) absence o any long-erm daa [Tobacman, personal communicaion].

In he Beniz eeding sudies ha were used by heWHO o sudy he inesinal effecs o carrageenansin he Rhesus monkey 47, here were many similarflaws, including prolonged recovery periods ollow-ing exposure o carrageenan. Recovery periods wereup o weny-our weeks, obscuring he impac o car-rageenan-eeding on he inesinal pahology. Evenwih his prolonged recovery, here were significanchanges in he reiculoendohelial cells o he liv-

ers o he monkeys reaed wih he lower molecularweigh carrageenan.

3. The 2016 TR saes ha “carrageenan can be avoided by sensiive individuals, as i is included in he label”.This is incorrec. When carrageenan is a secondaryingredien, as in beer, condensed milk and cream, iis no lised on he label.

4. The specific chemical composiion o carrageenanis immunogenic, due o he presence o he galac-ose-alpha-1,3-galacose bond, which humans do no


22/50


make. Thereore, he effecs o carrageenan are in-dependen o he molecular weigh, alhough moreharmul effecs are observed wih lower molecularweigh carrageenans.

5. The saemen made by he NOSB subcommiteeha “only some people are sensiive” is inaccurae.I migh be rue ha only a subse o he populaionexperience acue sympoms; however, he galacose-

alpha-1,3-galacose bond is immunogenic o all hu-mans and Old World apes. Humans do no make his bond, and exposure leads o acivaion o an immuneresponse. Dr. Uri Galili has published requenlyabou his epiope.48 The alpha-1,3-galacosylrans-erase gene ha makes he galacose-alpha-1,3-galac-ose bond was inacivaed in ancesral primaes, andani-Gal anibodies reac o his bond. This reacionleads o rejecion o ransplanaion o organs rommos mammals and is a universal human response.

The response o his epiope is differen han aller-gic responses since he immunoglobulins simulaed

include IgG, IgM, IgA, and IgE, no jus IgE. Somevariaion in response may occur depending on ABO

blood group. The naural IgG ani-Gal anibody isabundanly presen in all humans, unless severelyimmunocompromised.

6. The saemen made by he NOSB handling sub-commitee ha hey are “roubled ha he re-search showing inflammaion and glucoseinolerance is all rom one research eam andhas no been replicaed,” is simply no rue.

There are a number o labs around he world ha

have sudied he inflammaory effecs o carragee-nan. Thousands o reerences (roughly 10,000) inPubMed occur when “inflammaion and carragee-nan” is searched. In he European Commission re-view rom 2003, hundreds o sudies ha discussedhe effecs o carrageenan on inesinal inflamma-ion were reviewed. Many are reerenced in his doc-umen (Appendix A). A ew imporan reerencesha are missing rom he TR include:

Q The clinical impac o carrageenan and diabees,

currenly being sudied by a German group (Uni-

versiy o Tuebingen, Dr. Rober Wagner and Dr.

Norber Sean).49

Q The effecs o carrageenan on insulin resisance,

currenly being sudied by T.W. Jung, S.Y. Lee,

and H.C. Hong.50

Q The inducion o diabees by carrageenan in an

animal model, sudied by H.S. Baek and J.W.

Yoon (1991).51

7. Several sudies have shown he degradaion o car-rageenan in he digesive rac, including Uno e al.(2001)52 and Pitman, Golberg, and Coulson (1976).53

8. Sudies ha look a he average molecular weigh ocarrageenan, many o which are discussed in he TR,are no useul because hey obscure he presence olower molecular weigh orms.

9. Carrageenan is non-essenial. Every organic produc

conaining carrageenan has an organic alernaive, being produced by one or more compeiors, ha doesno conain he ingredien.

10. The amoun o poligeenan deeced is limied by poordeecion capabiliies.54

11. The lack o more “dose-response” sudies has beencriicized in repors unded by indusry, bu dose-response sudies have been perormed. The amouno carrageenan exposure in experimens ha dem-onsrae inflammaion is ofen less han wha isconsumed in he ypical die, based on average car-rageenan consumpion o 250 mg/day. Levels o dailyconsumpion o carrageenan in he die may be muchhigher, on he order o 18-40 mg/kg/d.

12. Indusry has also ried o discoun sudies in esab-lished human colonic epihelial cell line NCM460,which, like mos o he cell lines used in cell culuresudies, is a ransormed cell line, enabling surviv-al in cell culure experimens. All o he sudies hadconrols ha were no exposed o carrageenan orcomparison, and daa were analyzed by appropriaesaisics. Sudies have also shown inflammaion innormal human colonic epihelial cells rom colon sur-gery specimens, rom oher esablished roden and

human inesinal cell lines, and in mouse models.55

I should be noed ha he 2016 Technical Review oncarrageenan was produced by he Organic MaerialReview Insiue (OMRI). Is board and saff includeindividuals who have proessional involvemen inselling “approved” synheic compounds o arm-ing and manuacuring ineress. Furhermore, heCEO o OMRI is he ormer chie execuive o henaion’s larges cerifier, CCOF, which compensaeshe NOSB handling subcommitee member who isacing as a lead on his maerial.

I should also be noed ha he Naional OrganicProgram no longer publishes he names o he au-hors o he TRs. Afer ideniying a number o pasconflics o ineres, i is no longer possible or or-ganic sakeholders or public ineres organizaions,or he NOSB or ha mater, o scruinize he quali-ficaions or backgrounds o he scieniss preparinghese briefings or NOSB members.


23/50


Food Manufacturers’ Responses

to Scientific Data about CarrageenanOVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, a number o prominen companies have announced hey have/will re-move carrageenan rom heir produc lines, including WhieWave™, one o he larges marke-ers o organic/naural oods in he counry. However, as o April 2016, WhieWave’s Horizon™organic low-a sour cream and cotage cheese sill have carrageenan. They have removed irom many o heir oher producs, including Tuberz yogur or children, chocolae milk, andwhipping cream. Many brands are now using he lack o carrageenan in heir ormulaions as

a markeing ool.Oher companies have saed hey are acivelyworking o remove carrageenan rom all o heirproducs, whereas some have ignored consumer’sconcerns. In some cases, when consumers inquireabou carrageenan, companies ask heir cusomerso be paien as hey work o reormulae heir prod-ucs.

In response o growing markeplace concern, heollowing companies have compleely removed car-rageenan rom heir produc lines: Almond Breeze®,Amazing Grass Kidz Superood®, Annie’s®, Cali-fia Farms®, and Good Karma®. So Delicious® (alsoowned by WhieWave™) has removed i rom heirrerigeraed coconu milk, bu no heir shel-sableselecions.

In oher cases, companies coninue o deend issaey, requenly posing biased inormaion, sup-plied by lobbyis o he carrageenan indusry, onheir websies.

Organic Valley has ailed o publicly acknowledge

he healh risks o carrageenan and lobbied or isconinued use in organic oods, bu is, noneheless,working o remove i. In November 2012, hey reor-mulaed heir eggnog o be carrageenan-ree. As oApril, 2016, Organic Valley heavy whipping creamha is “ulra-paseurized” conains carrageenan,whereas is heavy whipping cream ha is labeled“paseurized” (sandard high emperaure shorime paseurizaion — HTST) does no.

Unorunaely, oher companies have no only resis-ed aking carrageenan ou o heir producs, bu areacively disseminaing alse inormaion abou i inheir atemp o persuade heir cusomers ha car-rageenan is sae. I is especially roublesome whenhis misinormaion comes rom organic brands.

Concerned consumers are encouraged o visi TheCornucopia Insiue’s webpage (cornucopia.org),and click on he “Repors” ab, where hey will findresources on carrageenan, including a buyers guideo help amilies choose he saes possible producs

in erms o carrageenan conen.


24/50



25/50


Industry Confirms, then Hides

Poligeenan in Food-grade CarrageenanTHE SPECIFICATION THAT CARRAGEENAN used in ood mus no conain more han 5% molar mass wihmolecular weigh less han 50k Da was ormally adoped by he European Commission (Direc-ive 2004/45/EC on April 16, 2004) or implemenaion by Member Saes by April 1, 2005.

As a resul o his direcive, he Marinalg Work-ing Group, composed o carrageenan producers,atemped o measure he poligeenan wihin ood-grade carrageenan, bu had difficuly replicaing

he resuls among labs. Resuls were posed online, bu subsequenly removed, since hey proved hapoligeenan was measured in ood-grade carragee-nan a quaniies as high as 25%. Forunaely, Cornu-copia has mainained hese documens (AppendixB). Figure 1 rom heir repor, showing he range inhe percenage o low molecular weigh carragee-nan (less han 50k Da) is picured below. A he imeo his wriing (April, 2016) he Marinalg Work-ing Group sill has no published a reliable mehodor molecular weigh disribuion measuremen o

mee he European Commission Direcive.The carrageenan indusry has ried or decades o

reain he use o carrageenan in ood producs be-cause o is biological reaciviy wih ingrediens.This same biological reaciviy is wha makes carra-geenan harmul. Effors by indusry o cover up he

harmul effecs o carrageenan resemble similar e-ors by hose wih vesed ineress (such as obaccoand racking). These cover-ups mus no go unchal-lenged. The organic secor, especially, expecs beter.

Percen poligeenan ound in weleve ood-gradecarrageenan samples (resuls were published by hecarrageenan indusry online, hen subsequenly re-moved). Resuls no only demonsrae ha poligeen-an is commonly ound in ood-grade carrageenan,

bu also ha he indusry is unable o accuraelydeermine he amoun o poligeenan ha conami-naes ood-grade carrigeenan.


26/50



27/50


Consumers: Taking Action

IN 2012, THE FDA DENIED a 2008 ciizen peiion o remove carrageenan rom oods, indicaing heagency is unlikely o ac anyime soon in he ineres o public healh concerning carrageenan.I is, hereore, up o individuals o ake acion.

Proec your healh: read labels careully, checkhe ingrediens lis, and conac ood companies omake sure ha carrageenan is no already in he in-grediens hey use (and hereore no on he label).

Q As ood manuacurers become aware ha consum-

ers wan o avoid carrageenan, some are lising “IrishMoss” insead. “Irish Moss” is anoher name or car-rageenan.

Q Do no rely on inerne daa presened by companiesha have an economic ineres in carrageenan use.Some ood manuacurers, aware ha consumers areincreasingly avoiding carrageenan, have removedcarrageenan rom he ingrediens lis on heir web-sies. Check he label on he ood isel, raher han ex-clusively relying on inormaion supplied on websies.

Q Carrageenan is no always on he ingredien label,even hough i may be presen as a “secondary” ingre-

dien (an ingredien presen in a lised ingredien).Carrageenan is ofen used o clariy beer and is nolised on he ingrediens label. Cream and condensedmilk are addiional ingrediens ha may conain car-rageenan wihou being lised on he ingrediens la-

bel. I “cream” or “condensed milk” is lised, conache company and ask hem i carrageenan is in hecream or condensed milk.

Use Cornucopia’s shopping guide o find alerna-ives o oods ha conain carrageenan (availableonline a www.cornucopia.org). Suppor he compa-nies (generally, cerified organic) ha have made a

commimen o he healh and well-being o heircusomers.

Q I your grocer does no ye sock carrageenan-ree or-ganic oods, ask hem o carry he carrageenan-reealernaives.

Conac companies and ask hem o remove carra-geenan rom your avorie producs. Tell hem youwill no longer buy heir producs unil carrageenanis removed.

Q Consumer service phone numbers and email address-es can be ound on he “Abou Us” or “Conac Us” pageo mos ood manuacurers’ websies as well as onmany labels.

Q Some companies ha have already commited o re-moving carrageenan will ell you, while ohers will

saunchly deend he saey o carrageenan based onoudaed science.

Share his inormaion wih ohers. Tell yourriends and amily abou carrageenan, so ha heycan also proec heir healh. Also, ell your docor iyou have noiced improvemens in your healh afereliminaing carrageenan rom your die.

In he absence o governmen regulaory acion oproec ciizens’ healh, i is up o individual con-sumers o ake acion.

Remember: ogeher,consumers have morepower han all cor-porae lobbyiss andinappropriaely in-fluenced governmenofficials combined.“Pink slime” and hy-drogenaed oils (ransas) have viruallydisappeared rom ourood supply, no due o

FDA acion bu, rah-er, due o consumerpressure.

Puting carrageenan in ood is like puting poisonivy in skin loion. The only difference is we cannosee he inflammaion, lesions, ulceraions, and pol-yps in our inesines. Boh are naural, and boh arecause or concern.

Putting carrageenan

in food is like putting

poison ivy in skin lotion.

The only difference

is we cannot see the

inflammation, lesions,

ulcerations, and polyps

in our intestines. Both

are natural, and both are

cause for concern.


28/50


While he ood indusry and carrageenan manuac-urers will likely coninue or some ime o dispuescienific findings poining o harm, consumers

have he power o send a srong message o he oodmanuacurers who pu heir profi and convenienceabove our naion’s healh and well-being.

Cornucopia’s Carrageenan Shopping Guide

Use Cornucopia’s online shopping guide to help you

avoid carrageenan in organic and non-organic prod-

ucts, including dairy, dairy alternatives, nutritional

drinks, deli meats, dips, juice, prepared foods, des-

serts, and infant formula. Click the “Scorecards” tab

at www.cornucopia.org.

If you notice improvements in your gastrointestinal

health after removing carrageenan from your diet,

please take a moment to fill out the online question-

naire (also available at www.cornucopia.org/carragee-

nan) to help medical researchers better understand the

degree and severity of carrageenan-related gastroin-

testinal symptoms in the general public.


29/50


Appendix A: Scientific Findings 1969–2016

CARRAGEENAN HAS BEEN STUDIED or more han 40 years. The ollowing sudies are presened in chron-ological order. This is no a complee lis o sudies conduced using carrageenan, bu is repre-senaive o sudies by publicly unded scieniss raising concern.

I is imporan o noe ha all sudies cied here used ood-grade, undegraded carrageenan. This

is he ype o carrageenan ha manuacurers claim is sae. The findings summarized below

reflec a very differen conclusion.The unding source is idenified or sudies ha disclosed i.

1960s:

Wat J, Marcus R (1969) Ulceraive coliis in heguinea-pig caused by seaweed exrac. Journal o

Pharmacy and Pharmacology 21:187S–188S.

Summary of findings: This sudy was one o he firso show ha ood-grade carrageenan conribues o

ulceraive coliis-like disease in laboraory animals(guinea pigs).

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Liverpool, UniedKingdom

1970s:

Grasso P, Sharrat M, Carpanini FMB, Gangolli SD(1973) Sudies on carrageenan and large-bowel ul-ceraion in mammals. Food and Cosmeics Toxicol-ogy 11:555–564.

Summary of findings: The researchers adminis-ered boh degraded and undegraded/ood-gradecarrageenan in he die o several species o labora-ory animals. Guinea pigs and rabbis experiencedulceraions in he large inesine, sympoms whichwere no deeced in ras, squirrel monkeys, ham-sers, and erres.

Auhor affiliaions: The Briish Indusrial Biologi-cal Research Associaion, a privaely owned con-suling firm.

Pitman K, Golberg L, and Coulson F (1976) Carra-geenan: The effec o molecular weigh and polymerype on is upake, excreion and degradaion in ani-mals.” Food and Cosmeics Toxicology 14 (2):85-93.

Summary of findings: Food-grade carrageenan wasgiven o guinea pigs, monkeys, and ras hroughdrinking waer or in he die. Fecal and liver sam-

ples were examined by gel elecrophoresis and car-rageenans presen in he eces were reduced o100kDa or less. Carrageenans were also ound inhe liver, demonsraing ha high molecular weighcarrageenans are degraded afer passing hroughhe digesive rac and can be absorbed.

Auhor affiliaions: Insiue o Comparaive andHuman Toxicology, Albany Medical College oUnion Universiy

Engser M and Abraham R (1976) Cecal response odifferen molecular weighs and ypes o carragee-nan in he guinea pig. Toxicology and Applied Phar-

macology 38:265–282.

Summary of findings: In his shor-erm sudy, re-searchers adminisered differen ypes o carragee-nan in he die and drinking waer o guinea pigs orwo weeks. They ound ulceraion o he inesinesin guinea pigs given undegraded ioa-carrageenanin he drinking waer. No changes were observed inhe oher groups, and i is unclear wha effecs wouldhave been seen i he experimen had been conin-ued or longer han wo weeks.


30/50


Funding: Naional Insiue o EnvironmenalHealh Sciences, Naional Insiues o Healh

Auhor affiliaion: Albany Medical College

Waanabe K, Reddy BS, Wong CQ, Weisburger JH(1978) Effec o dieary undegraded carrageenanon colon carcinogenesis in F344 ras reaed wihazoxymehane or mehylnirosourea. Cancer Re-

search 38:4427–4430.

Summary of findings: This sudy ound higher raeso umors in ras ed undegraded carrageenan in hedie.

Funding: Naional Cancer Insiue (Naional Insi-ues o Healh)

Auhor affiliaions: Naylor Dana Insiue or Dis-ease Prevenion, American Healh Foundaion

1980s:

Wat J and Marcus R (1980) Poenial hazards o car-rageenan. The Lance 315(8168): 602-603.

Leter o The Lance: The auhors o published re-search showing increased raes o ulceraive coliis-like disease in laboraory animals given ood-gradecarrageenan wroe he leter o The Lance. Highlyrespeced, The Lance is one o he world’s leadingmedical journals. The scieniss express heir con-cern wih he saey o carrageenan in ood.

Wat J and Marcus R (1981) Harmul effecs o car-

rageenan ed o animals. Cancer Deecion and Pre-venion 4(1-4): 129-34.

Review aricle: The auhors reviewed he scieni-ic lieraure and ound “an increased number o re-pors … describing harmul effecs o degraded andundegraded carrageenan supplied o several animalspecies in heir die or drinking fluid.”

“Harmul effecs [o ood-grade carrageenan] arealmos cerainly associaed wih is degradaionduring passage hrough he gasroinesinal rac.There is need or exreme cauion in he use o car-rageenan or carrageenan-like producs as ood addi-ives in our die.”

Wat J and Marcus R (1981) Danger o carrageenanin oods and slimming recipes. The Lance 317(8215):338.

Leter o The Lance: Scieniss repea heir concernwih he use o carrageenan in ood in a leter o The Lance.

Arakawe S, Okumua M, Yamada S, Io M, Tejima

S (1986) Enhancing effec o carrageenan on he in-ducion o ra colonic umors by 1,2-dimehylhydra-zine and is relaion o ß-glucuronidase aciviies ineces and oher issues. Journal o Nuriional Scienceand Viaminology 32:481–485.

Summary of findings: This sudy ound higher raeso umors in ras ed undegraded carrageenan in he

die.Auhor affiliaions: Nagoya Ciy Universiy, Japan

Nicklin S and Miller K (1984) Effec o orally admin-isered ood-grade carrageenans on anibody-medi-aed and cell-mediaed immuniy in he inbred ra.Food and Chemical Toxicology 22:615–621.

Summary of findings: Researchers using undegrad-ed carrageenan adminisered in he drinking waero ras showed ha carrageenan peneraes he in-esinal barrier.

Auhor affiliaions: The Briish Indusrial Biologi-cal Research Associaion, a privaely-owned con-suling firm.

Calver RJ and Reicks M (1988) Aleraions in co-lonic hymidine kinase enzyme aciviy induced byconsumpion o various dieary fibers. Proceedingso he Sociey or Experimenal Biology and Medi-cine 189:45–51.

Summary of findings: Researchers examined herepored effecs o various dieary fibers on chemi-cally induced colon carcinogenesis in ras. This

sudy ound a our-old increase in hymidine kinaseaciviy (a measure or malignan disease) in colonicmucosa ollowing exposure o ood-grade carragee-nan. No differences were ound ollowing exposureo guar gum, a ood addiive used as an alernaive ocarrageenan.

Funding: Food and Drug Adminisraion

Auhor affiliaions: Food and Drug Adminisraion

1990s:

Weiner ML (1991) Toxicological properies o carra-geenan. Agens and Acions 32(1-2): 46-51.

Summary of findings: Based on a review o animaleeding sudies, carrageenan is sae.

Auhor affiliaion: FMC Corporaion (mulibilliondollar chemical corporaion and leading carragee-nan manuacurer)

Wilcox DK, Higgins J, Berram TA (1992) Colonicepihelial cell prolieraion in a ra model o non-


31/50


genooxin-induced colonic neoplasia. Laboraory In-vesigaion 67:405–411.

Summary of findings: This sudy shows an associ-aion beween loss o epihelial cells (he cell mem-

branes in he inesine) and he consumpion o bohundegraded and degraded carrageenan.

Funding: Procor & Gamble Company

Auhor affiliaions: Procor & Gamble Company

Capron I, Yvon M, Muller G (1996) In-viro gas-ric sabiliy o carrageenan. Food Hydrocolloids 10(2):293–244.

Summary of findings: This sudy analyzed he raeo degradaion in an arificial somach which sim-ulaed realisic condiions or human digesion,wherein he pH gradually decreases rom 5 o 1.5over 3 hours prior o gasric empying. The findingsshowed ha, under he mos unavorable condiionso gasric digesion (slow empying rae and rapid

acidificaion), abou 10” o he carrageenan had a mo-lecular weigh o less han 100 kDa.

Funding: Procor & Gamble Company

Auhor affiliaions: Procor & Gamble Company

Corpe DE, Taché S, and Préclaire M (1997) Car-rageenan given as a jelly does no iniiae, bu pro-moes he growh o aberran cryp oci in he racolon. Cancer Leters 114:53–55.

Summary of findings: Consumpion o ood-gradecarrageenan promoes he growh o aberran cryp

oci in he ra colon. Aberran cryp oci are abnor-mal glands in he colon ha are precursors o polypsand are one o he earlies changes seen in he colonha may lead o cancer.

Auhor affiliaions: French Naional Insiue oAgronomic Research, Toulouse, France

Tobacman JK (1997) Filamen disassembly andloss o mammary myopihelial cells afer exposureo lambda-carrageenan. Cancer Research 57:2823-2826.

Summary of findings: Mammary myopeiheli-al cells exposed o lambda-carrageenan a raes aslow as 0.00014% exhibied disrupion o he inernalcellular archiecure and cell deah. Desrucion ohese cells in issue culure by a low concenraion oa widely used ood addiive suggess a dieary mech-anism or mammary carcinogenesis no consideredpreviously.

Auhor affiliaions: Deparmen o Inernal Medi-cine, College o Medicine, The Universiy o Iowa

Since 2000:

Suzuki J, Na HK, Upham BL, Chang CC and TroskoJE (2000) Lambda-carrageenan-induced inhibiiono gap-juncional inercellular communicaion in raliver epihelial cells. Nuriion and Cancer 36(1): 122-8.

Summary of findings: This sudy aimed o beterundersand he role o ood-grade carrageenan in

carcinogenesis. The experimens in his sudywere designed o es he hypohesis ha carragee-nan migh uncion as a umor-promoing chemi-cal by inhibiing GJIC (Gap-juncional inercellularcommunicaion is believed o help healhy cells fighcancer). The daa revealed inhibiion o GJIC by car-rageenan similar o ha by he well-documened u-mor promoer phorbol eser.

Auhor affiliaions: Michigan Sae Universiy

Tobacman JK (2001) Review o Harmul Gasroin-esinal Effecs o Carrageenan in Animal Experi-

mens. Environmenal Healh Perspecives 109(10):983-994.

Review sudy: This sudy examined exising re-search done o dae (2001). The auhor concluded:“Because o he acknowledged carcinogenic proper-ies o degraded carrageenan in animal models, andhe cancer-promoing effecs o undegraded carra-geenan in experimenal models, he widespread useo carrageenan in he Wesern die should be recon-sidered.”

Funding: None

Auhor affiliaion: Universiy o Iowa College oMedicine

Cornucopia Noe: The publicaion o his review,in he respeced journal o he Naional Insiueso Healh’s Naional Insiue or EnvironmenalHealh Sciences, marks a urning poin.

I promped independen researchers o moreclosely sudy he biological mechanisms ha causehe observed negaive healh effecs o consumingundegraded, ood-grade carrageenan.

These sudies, ocusing exclusively on ood-gradecarrageenan, have advanced scienific undersand-ing abou he way in which carrageenan causesharm.

Hagiwara A, Miyashia K, Nakanishi T, Sano M, Ta-mano S, Asai I, Nakamura M, Imaida K, Io N andShirai T (2001) Lack o Tumor Promoing Effecs oCarrageenan on 1,2-Dimehylhydrazine-inducedColorecal Carcinogenesis in Male F344 Ras. Jour-nal o Toxicologic Pahology 14; 37.


32/50


Summary of findings: This sudy ound no saisi-cally significan increases in malignan umors inras given ood-grade carrageenan in he die.

Auhor affiliaions: Nagoya Ciy Universiy, Daiyu-kai Insiue or Medical Science and San-Ei GenFFI, Inc.

Cornucopia Noe: This sudy has been widely ci-

ed by he carrageenan manuacurers and is radelobby group Marinalg as “proo” ha carrageenanis sae. One o he auhors is a scienis wih San-Ei Gen FFI, Inc, a Japanese carrageenan manuac-urer.

The sudy has been criicized by publicly unded sci-eniss, primarily because he sudy was erminaedas higher raes o umors in he carrageenan groupwere deeced. The ras were killed afer 90 days (ara’s naural liespan is 2 years). When he sudy waserminaed, umor raes were higher, bu no yehigh enough o be saisically significan.

Uno Y, Omoo T, Goo Y, Asai I, Nakamura M andMaiani T (2001) Molecular weigh disribuion ocarrageenans sudies by a combined gel perme-aion/inducively coupled plasma (GPC/ICP) meh-od. Food Addiives and Conaminans 18: 763-772.

Summary of findings: The sudy measured he mo-lecular weigh o 29 samples o ood-grade carragee-nan and concluded ha no sample had a significanlevel o degraded carrageenan. The deecion limiwas 5%.

Auhor affiliaions: San-Ei Gen FFI, Inc, a Japaneseood addiive manuacurer. In addiion o carragee-nan, San-Ei Gen FFI manuacures flavors, colors,preservaives and he arificial sweeener sucralose.

Cohen SM and Io N (2002) A criical review o heoxicological effecs o carrageenan and processedeuchema seaweed on he gasroinesinal rac. Cri-ical Reviews in Toxicology 32(5): 413-44.

Summary of findings: The auhors o his reviewcriicized research sudies poining o gasroines-inal harm rom consuming carrageenan. The au-

hors conclude ha “here is no credible evidencesupporing a carcinogenic effec or a umor-promo-ing effec on he colon in rodens.”

Cornucopia Noe: The auhors, wih ies o he car-rageenan indusry, criicized he sudies ha haveound higher raes o gasroinesinal disease inlaboraory animals. The auhors reviewed 23 sud-ies, and ound aul wih every one.

Such sudies, commissioning scieniss o serve

as apologiss “debunking” science in deense o aharmul subsance, is a common acic by corporaemanuacurers whose produc is scruinized by pub-licly unded scieniss (e.g. obacco, asparame).

Weiner M, Nuber D, Blakemore WR, Harriman JFand Cohen SM (2007) A 90-day dieary sudy on kap-pa-carrageenan wih emphasis on he gasroinesi-nal rac. Food and Chemical Toxicology 45(1): 98-106.

Summary of findings: The sudy ound no clinicalsigns in ras ed high doses o ood-grade carragee-nan wih up o 12% degraded carrageenan, oherhan sof sool. The auhors repored ha he gasro-inesinal rac “appeared normal,” even in he rasgiven high doses o carrageenan in he die.

Auhor affiliaions: FMC Corporaion, a leadingmanuacurer o carrageenan. In addiion o man-uacuring carrageenan, FMC Corporaion (a $3.4

billion conglomerae) produces pesicides and indus-rial chemicals.56

Borhakur A, Bhatacharyya S, Dudeja PK and To- bacman JK (2007) Carrageenan induces inerleu-kin-8 producion hrough disinc Bcl10 pahwayin normal human colonic epihelial cells. Ameri-can Journal o Physiology, Gasroinesinal and Liver

Physiology 292(3): G829-38.

Summary of findings: Exposure o human colonicepihelial cells in issue culure o small quaniieso undegraded (ood-grade) carrageenan producedinflammaion by a second pahway o reacive oxy-gen species, as well as by he innae immune pah-

way.

Funding: Deparmen o Veerans Affairs; NaionalInsiue o Diabees and Digesive and Kidney Dis-eases, Naional Insiues o Healh

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chicagoand Jesse Brown Veerans Affairs Medical Cener

Bhatacharyya S, Borhakus A, Dudeja PK and To- bacman JK (2007) Carrageenan reduces bone mor-phogeneic proein-4 (BMP4) and acivaes he Wn/

bea-caenin pahway in normal human colono-cyes. Digesive Diseases and Sciences 52(10): 2766-74.

Summary of findings: This sudy idenified mecha-nisms by which ood-grade carrageenan influenceshe developmen o human inesinal polyps. Un-reaed inesinal polyps can develop ino colon can-cer.

Funding: Naional Insiues o Healh

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chicago

Bhatacharyya S, Dudeja PK and Tobacman JK


33/50


(2008) Carrageenan-induced NFkappaB aciva-ion depends on disinc pahways mediaed byreacive oxygen species and Hsp27 or by Bcl10. Bio-chimica and Biophysica Aca 1780(7-8): 973-82.

Summary of findings: Exposure o human colonicepihelial cells in issue culure o small quaniieso ood-grade carrageenan produced inflammaoryresponses.

Funding: Naional Insiues o Healh


Bhatacharyya S, Borhakur A, Dudeja PK and To- bacman JK (2008) Carrageenan induces cell cy-cle arres in human inesinal epihelial cells inviro. Journal o Nuriion 138(3): 469-75.

Summary of findings: Exposure o human colonicepihelial cells in issue culure o small quaniieso undegraded (ood-grade) carrageenan producedan increase in cell deah wih cell cycle arres, e-

ecs ha can conribue o ulceraions.Funding: Naional Insiues o Healh

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chicagoand Jesse Brown Veerans Affairs Medical Cener

Bhatacharyya S, Gill R, Chen ML, Zhang F, Lin-hard RJ, Dudeja PK and Tobacman JK (2008)Toll-like recepor 4 mediaes inducion o he Bcl10-NFkappaB-inerleukin-8 inflammaory pahway

by carrageenanin human inesinal epihelial cells.Journal o Biological Chemisry 283(16): 10550-8.

Summary of findings: Exposure o human colon-ic epihelial cells in issue culure o small quani-ies o ood-grade carrageenan was associaed wihchanges in molecular signaling pahways ha re-semble he changes ound in human colonic polyps.Unreaed polyps can develop ino colon cancer.

Funding: Naional Insiues o Healh; VeeransAdminisraion

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chica-go; Jesse Brown Veerans Affairs Medical Cener;Rensselaer Polyechnic Insiue

Bhatacharyya S, Borhakur A, Tyagi S, Gill R,Chen ML, Dudeja PK, Tobacman JK (2010) B-cellCLL/lymphoma 10 (BCL10) is required or NF-kap-paB producion by boh canonical and noncanoni-cal pahways and or NF-kappaB-inducing kinase(NIK) phosphorylaion. Journal o Biological Chemis-ry. 1;285(1):522-30.

Summary of findings: Carrageenan simulaes in-nae immune-mediaed pahways o inflammaion.

Funding: Naional Insiues o Healh; VeeransAdminisraion


Bhatacharyya S, Liu H, Zhang F, Jam M, DudejaPK, Michel G, Linhard RJ, and Tobacman JK (2010)Carrageenan-induced innae immune response ismodified by enzymes ha hydrolyze disinc galac-

osidic bonds. Journal o Nuriional Biochemisry21(10): 906-13.

Summary of findings: This sudy examines he im-mune response by which ood-grade carrageenancauses inflammaion.

Funding: Veerans Adminisraion

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chicago;Jesse Brown Veerans Affairs Medical Cener; Rens-selaer Polyechnic Insiue; Universiy Pierre andMarie Currie/Sorbonne Universiy, Paris, France

Bhatacharyya S, Dudeja PK and Tobacman JK(2010) Tumor necrosis acor alpha-induced inflam-maion is increased bu apoposis is inhibied bycommon ood addiive carrageenan. Journal o Bio-logical Chemisry 285(50): 39511-22.

Summary of findings: This sudy examines he par-icular mechanisms by which ood-grade carragee-nan cause inflammaion.

Funding: Veerans Adminisraion

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chicago;Jesse Brown Veerans Affairs Medical Cener

Borhakur A, Bhatacharyya S, Anbazhagan AN,Kumar A, Dudeja PK and Tobacman JK (2012) Pro-longaion o carrageenan-induced inflammaion inhuman colonic epihelial cells by acivaion o anNFκB-BCL10 loop. Biochimica and Biophysica Aca 1822(8): 1300-7.

Summary of findings: Inflammaion o he coloncaused by exposure o low levels o ood-grade car-rageenan persiss beyond he iniial period o expo-sure.

Funding: Naional Insiues o HealhAuhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chicago

Yang B, Bhatacharyya S, Linhard R and Tobac-man JK (2012) Exposure o common ood addiivecarrageenan leads o reduced sulaase aciviy andincrease in sulaed glycosaminoglycans in humanepihelial cells. Biochimie 94(6): 1309-16.

Summary of findings: Exposure o small amounso ood-grade carrageenan reduces he aciviy o


34/50


sulaase enzymes, which are criical or many vialcellular processes.

Funding: Naional Insiue o General Medical Sci-ences, Naional Insiues o Healh

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chica-go; Jesse Brown Veerans Affairs Medical Cener;Rensselaer Polyechnic Insiue

Bhatacharyya S, O-Sullivan I, Kayal S, UnermanT and Tobacman JK (2012) Exposure o he commonood addiive carrageenan leads o glucose inoler-ance, insulin resisance and inhibiion o insulinsignalling in HepG2 cells and C57BL/6J mice. Dia-beologia 55(1): 194-203.

Summary of findings: Carrageenan in he die mayconribue o diabees. Carrageenan impairs glucoseolerance, increases insulin resisance, and inhibisinsulin signalling in vivo in mouse liver and humanHepG2 cells. These effecs may resul rom carra-geenan-induced inflammaion.

Funding: Naional Insiues o Healh; AmericanDiabees Associaion


Furher research coninues. An ongoing sudy wihulceraive coliis paiens aims o shed ligh on heeffecs o carrageenan in he die on gasroinesinaldisease. Oher sudies currenly underway provideaddiional daa o examine he link beween ood-grade carrageenan and diabees.

Bhatacharyya S, Feerman L, and Tobacman JK(2014) Increased Expression o Colonic Wn9Ahrough Sp1-mediaed Transcripional Effecs in-volving Arylsulaase B, Chondroiin 4-Sulae,and Galecin-3 The Journal o Biological Chemisry 289(25): 17564-17575.

Summary of findings: Mechanism by which Wnexpression was increased by carrageenan exposurewas unknown. This sudy showed ha Sp1 aciva-ed Wn9A ranscripion hrough changes in aryl-sulaase B, chondroiin 4-sulaion, and galecin-3.In conclusion, a decline in arylsulaase B leads o

ranscripional effecs mediaed by Sp1 and galec-in-3. The significance is ha exracellular evenscan regulae ranscripion hrough changes in aryl-sulaase B and chondroiin 4-sulaion.

Auhor affiliaions: Universiy o Illinois a Chicago;Jesse Brown Veerans Affairs Medical Cener

Bhatacharyya S, Feerman L, Borhakur S andTobacman JK (2014) Common Food Addiive Car-rageenan Simulaes Wn/β-Caenin Signaling in

Colonic Epihelium by Inhibiion o NucleoredoxinReducion. Nuriion and Cancer 66(1): 117-127.

Summary of findings: Exposure o carrageenan may be a risk acor in developmen o colorecal cancer.The findings indicae ha environmenal exposuresimulaes boh Wn signaling and sugges ha car-rageenan e

Documents

CarageenanReport-2016