SUMMARY

After over four years of experimentation, Marinalg hasbeen unable to reliably measure this new specification in laboratories of its members, its customers, or in independent laboratories. Several methods based on size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and light scattering (LS) were tested, and none gave reliable and reproducible results. Below 50,000 Daltons, the signal to noise ratio when light scattering is used for molecular weight determination is too low for the accuracy required by the EU specification. A very expensive embodiment of SEC/LS has been adopted by the Japan Ministry of Health for measuring this specification, but the methodology is flawed.

In June, 2007, the JECFA evaluated the work presented in this report and a new 90-day feeding study in which rats were fed carrageenan with a viscosity of 8cps. At this writing, while the final report of the 68th JECFA meeting has not published, the draft carrageenan specifications resulting from that meeting do not include a specification for the low molecular weight tail of carrageenan.

Of greater significance to human safety are the results of a recent
90-day rat feeding study that was performed with a carrageenan very close to the 5 cps water viscosity limit (8cps). This carrageenan would be expected to have a relatively large fraction less than 50,000 Daltons. Nevertheless the study showed no adverse toxicological effects in any of the test animals.

This work has now been published and appears in its entirety as Annex III of this report. Weiner, M. L., D. Nuber, W. R. Blaklemore, J. F. Harriman and S. M. Cohen, 2007. A 90-day dietary study on kappa carrageenan with emphasis on the gastrointestinal tract. Food Chem. Toxicol. 45,98-106.

Access to the full report : LMT Status Report.PDF
and to the annexes :
Annex 1 : Summary_Round_Robin1and 2.pdf
Annex 2 : Sample_Information.pdf
Annex 3 : 90_DAY_DIETARY_STUDY_ON_KAPPA_CARRAGEENAN
_WITH_EMPHASIS_ON_THE_GASTROINTESTINAL_TRACT.pdf