Carrageenan

Monitored — no direct score deduction

Seaweed-derived thickener. Suspected to promote gastrointestinal inflammation; evidence on long-term use in pets remains incomplete.

Score Rationale

No score deduction is applied because the evidence specifically concerns degraded carrageenan (poligeenan), not food-grade carrageenan used as a thickener. The distinction in regulatory and research contexts is meaningful. This factor is flagged for transparency — owners of cats with IBD or sensitive digestion should note it.

Scientific Evidence

• · Bhattacharyya S et al. (2012). Exposure to the common food additive carrageenan leads to glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and inhibition of insulin signalling in HepG2 cells and C57BL/6J mice. Diabetologia 55(1):194–203.
• · Weiner ML (2014). Food additive carrageenan: Part II: A critical review of carrageenan in vivo safety studies. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 44(3):244–269.

Affected Products (1 of 60)