Revealed by: Ingrid King. Final Up to date on: February 1, 2023 by Crystal Uys
Carrageenan is a standard meals addivitve each in pet meals and human meals. It’s extracted from seaweed by the usage of a chemical solvent. It’s used as thickener and binder in canned pet meals, in addition to in lots of human meals resembling ice cream, yogurt, and soy milk. You’ll suppose one thing that comes from seaweed is pure and wholesome, proper? Suppose once more.
Two sorts of carrageenan
There are two sorts of carrageenan – degraded and undegraded. In response to the Cornucopia Institute, the Worldwide Company for Analysis on Most cancers acknowledges degraded carrageenan as a “attainable human carcinogen,” primarily based on analysis displaying that it results in greater charges of colon most cancers in lab animals. Carrageenan processors declare that food-grade carrageenan falls completely within the undegraded class; nevertheless, one examine confirmed that not a single pattern of food-grade carrageenan may confidently declare to be completely freed from the potential cancer-causing materials.
Meals-grade or “undegraded” carrageenan is on the Meals and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) listing of things which might be “Usually Acknowledged as Protected (GRAS)” and the Affiliation of American Feed Management Officers (AAFCO) defines it as an appropriate emulsifier, stablizer, and thickener.
Degraded carrageenan, which happens at excessive temperatures and acidity, has been related to ulcerations within the gastro-intestinal tract and gastro-intestinal most cancers in animals.
Do you have to err on the aspect of warning?
All of this has me more and more involved about feeding meals that comprises carrageenan. Although meals with out this ingredient could also be just a little more durable to search out, I feel it’s effectively value studying your labels and discovering alternate options in case your cat’s present meals comprises it.
Take the time to scan your cat’s meals for this ingredient. Until your cat completely refuses to eat the manufacturers that don’t comprise carrageenan, I’d make the change.
Picture ©Robin Olson, used with permission. See extra of Robin’s lovable foster kittens on her weblog, Lined in Cat Hair.
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