E407 : 28529 products

E407 Carraghénanes

E407 Carraghénanes Carrageenans are natural polysaccharides obtained from red algae. They are colourless, odourless, tasteless and non-digestible, and therefore widely used as thickeners and gelling agents by the food industry. A certain fraction of the polysaccharide chains constituting the additive can be broken down into chains of lower molecular weight. We then speak of degraded carrageenans, likely to pass more easily the intestinal barrier. Various studies have shown a link between degraded carrageenans and the promotion of colon cancer. These studies have led the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Circ) to classify degraded carrageenans as a possible carcinogen (group 2B). However, other, more recent studies carried out on rats with an intestinal flora mimicking that of humans have shown no cancer-promoting effect. The data are therefore contradictory. The European authorities finally decided to tolerate a maximum of 5% of degraded carrageenans in the additive. The use of E407 is prohibited in certain confectionery products because of a choking risk, particularly for children and the elderly.