CARRAGEENAN| Pharmaceutical Grade | 99.99% Purity | CAS 9000-07-1

Carrageenan
Basic Properties
Density: 1.37 g/cm³
FEMA No.: 2596 (Irish Moss Extract)
Storage Condition: Room temperature
Form: Solid
Color: White to off-white
Odor: Odorless
pH Value: 7.5–10.5 (1.5% aqueous solution)
Biological Source: Red algae
Cosmetic Ingredient Function: Abrasive
Cosmetic Ingredient ID: Carrageenan (CAS No. 9000-07-1)
LogP: -5.57
IARC Carcinogen Classification: Group 3 (Volume 31, Supplement 7, 1987)
EPA Chemical Profile: Carrageenan (CAS No. 9000-07-1)
Properties, Applications & Manufacturing Process
Core Characteristics
Carrageenan holds core properties of soluble dietary fiber. After degradation inside the human body, it can form soluble complexes with fibrin. It can be fermented by intestinal bacteria to produce carbon dioxide, hydrogen, biogas, and short-chain fatty acids including formic acid, acetic acid and propionic acid, which serve as energy sources for beneficial intestinal microbes.
Brief Introduction

Carrageenan, also known as Irish moss gum, is a hydrophilic colloid extracted from certain species of marine red algae. Chemically, it is calcium, potassium, sodium and ammonium salts of sulfated polysaccharides composed of galactose and anhydrogalactose units. Based on different sulfate binding structures, it is divided into three main grades: Kappa, Iota and Lambda.
As a natural plant polysaccharide gum derived from red seaweed, carrageenan is widely used in food processing, chemical manufacturing, biochemical research and medical fields. It features functions including hydrophilic colloid formation, gelation, thickening, emulsification, film-forming and dispersion stabilization, which makes it popular in dairy products, ice cream, fruit beverages, baked bread and more.
Raw Material Source
Carrageenan is a natural anionic linear polysaccharide extracted from marine red algae families such as Kappaphycus, Chondrus, Gigartina and Hypnea, and it forms the main structural component of red algal cell walls.
Main industrial raw materials:
Kappaphycus alvarezii (harvested in Philippine waters, primary source of Kappa-type carrageenan)
Eucheuma spinosum (harvested in Indonesian waters, primary source of Iota-type carrageenan)
Gigartina (harvested in Morocco and South American coastal waters, primary source of Lambda-type carrageenan)
Its name originates from Carragheen, a region in southern Ireland. It is a globally widely applied hydrophilic colloidal raw material for food, daily chemical and medical industries.
Main Functions
Thickener, stabilizer, emulsifier, suspending agent, gelling agent, binder.
Industry Application Scenarios
Jelly production: As an excellent gelling agent, it can replace agar, gelatin and pectin.
Agar-made jelly lacks elasticity and carries high costs;
Gelatin jelly has low melting and setting points and requires cold storage during production and shelf life;
Pectin requires high sugar dosage and precise pH adjustment to form gel.
Carrageenan avoids all the above drawbacks, producing elastic jelly without water separation, so it is the mainstream gelling material for jelly.
Ice cream: Prevents whey separation and slows melting speed.
Jelly snacks & sweet bean jelly: Core gelling ingredient.
Chocolate milk: Suspends cocoa solids and improves mouthfeel texture.
Fruit juice drinks: Uniformly suspends fine fruit pulp particles to avoid sedimentation and optimize taste.
Flavored milk: Delivers smooth texture and richer mouthfeel.
Soft candy: Improves texture and shape retention.
Industrial Manufacturing Technology
The commercial production of carrageenan from red algae consists of four core steps: alkaline pre-treatment, hot water extraction, purification & separation, drying and milling.
Cleaned seaweed is treated with dilute alkaline solution (6%–8% sodium hydroxide) at around 50°C;
After washing to neutral pH, the algae are boiled in hot water at ~90°C to extract gum, then hot-filtered to remove algal residues and insoluble impurities;
Potassium chloride or isopropanol is added into the gum solution to flocculate and precipitate carrageenan. The formed gel is pressed to remove water;
Dehydrated gel is processed via drum drying, freeze drying or spray drying to form powder. Final products are sorted into Kappa, Iota and Lambda grades and blended into customized commercial specifications.
Toxicology & Safety Standards
ADI: No restricted limit (FAO/WHO, 2001)
Oral LD50 for sodium and calcium carrageenan in rats: 5.1–6.2 g/kg (administered as 25% corn oil emulsion)
GRAS certified by FDA (21 CFR §182.7255, 2000)
Legal Usage Limits
China GB 2760-96: All food categories, limited by good manufacturing practice (GMP).
FAO/WHO Standard (1984, g/kg):
Green beans, wax beans, sweet corn, mushrooms, asparagus, garden peas: 10 (for products containing cream or other oils)
Processed cheese: 8; Other regular cheese: 5
Standard milk & soybean-based infant formula: 0.3 g/kg; Hydrolyzed protein & amino acid-based infant formula: 1 g/kg
Cooked ham, pork shoulder (GMP limits)
Canned sardine, mackerel: 20 (only in soup liquid)
Pickled cucumbers: 0.5 g/kg
Canned carrots: 10
Broths & soups: 5 g/kg
Concentrated low-fat milk: 0.15 g/kg
Light cream: 5 (only for pasteurized whipping cream, UHT whipping cream and sterilized light cream)
Heat-treated flavored fermented yogurt & yogurt products: 5 g/kg
Frozen desserts: 10
USDA 9 CFR §318.7 (2000): Recombined meat products, maximum 1.5% addition.
FDA 21 CFR §172.620 (2000): Safe for food use, limited by GMP.

Chemical Properties
Carrageenan exists as translucent wrinkled flakes with slight luster, or white to pale yellow fine powder. It is odorless with a faint seaweed flavor.
Kappa and Iota carrageenan dissolve in hot water; Lambda carrageenan dissolves in cold water. All three grades are insoluble in organic solvents.
Dry carrageenan has strong stability; it resists hydrolysis under heating in neutral and alkaline aqueous solutions, but easily hydrolyzes in acidic environments below pH 4.
Its aqueous solution forms thermoreversible gel in the presence of potassium or calcium ions, or after cooling dissolved in hot milk.
Oral LD50 in rats: 5.1–6.2 g/kg; ADI without special limitation (FAO/WHO, 1994).
Full-Spectrum Application Fields
1. Food Industry
Fruit juice: Suspends fine pulp particles to slow sedimentation and upgrade taste;
Cocoa malt milk powder: Uniformly disperses cocoa powder in milk;
Ice cream: Delivers delicate, smooth texture and slows melting during storage;
Decorated cream cakes: Stabilizes cream patterns to avoid deformation or collapse;
Bread: Enhances water retention to delay staleness and extend freshness;
Jam, canned fish and meat: Effective gelling agent.
2. Daily Chemical & Detergent Industry
Laundry detergents: Superior anti-redeposition performance compared with methyl cellulose; improves dispersion and storage stability of liquid detergents;
Skincare & hair care: Easily absorbed by skin, mixed with glycerin to make moisturizers; works as emulsifier in lotions and shampoo to create smooth, soft texture and stabilize emulsion systems.
3. Photographic Materials
Can partially replace gelatin as photosensitive coating material, and act as anti-static agent in gelatin emulsions.
4. Pharmaceutical Industry
Ointment base: Does not stain fabrics and washes off easily;
Pharmaceutical excipient: Ideal for amine-group containing drugs. It forms salts with sulfate groups in carrageenan to achieve sustained release inside human bodies.
5. Other Industrial Sectors
Leather processing, ceramic manufacturing, textile printing & dyeing, paper making; biochemical engineering as high-performance carrier for immobilized enzymes for biomanufacturing.
Alternative Manufacturing Route 1
Raw red algae are treated with mixed alkaline and alkaline earth metal salt solutions, followed by rinsing, sun drying, boiling in hot water (100°C, 40–60 minutes), filtration, freezing, dehydration, oven drying, milling and sterilization to obtain finished goods.
Alternative workflow: Filtered gum liquid is poured into isopropanol under stirring to precipitate carrageenan, then separated via centrifugation, dried, milled to finished powder.
Alternative Manufacturing Route 2
Red algae species including Chondrus crispus, Chondrus ocellatus, Kappaphycus cottonii, Eucheuma spinosum and Gigartina acicularis are processed via dilute alkaline heating extraction or hot water extraction, followed by precipitation with methanol, ethanol or isopropanol.
For drum-dried carrageenan, monoglycerides, diglycerides or less than 5% polysorbate 80 are added as release agents. Commercial grades may be diluted with sugars to meet standard specifications, or blended with potassium chloride to customize gel strength and thickening capacity.
Hazard & Logistics Information
Hazard Classification: Toxic substance
Toxicity Grade: Moderate toxicity
Acute Toxicity Data:
Intravenous LDL0 in rabbits: 5 mg/kg
Intravenous LDL0 in guinea pigs: 20 mg/kg
Combustion Risk: Releases pungent irritant fumes during thermal decomposition
Storage & Transport Requirements: Store in cool, ventilated and dry warehouses
Fire Extinguishing Agents: Water, carbon dioxide, foam, dry chemical powder