What Is Carrageenan in Cat Meals?

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Synthetic colours, flavoring brokers, and different artificial meals components have the potential to hurt your cat’s well being. Nonetheless, it’s vital to distinguish between reality and fiction when making choices about cat meals based mostly on elements.

Carrageenan usually seems in lists of cat meals elements to keep away from. However is it actually that unhealthy? I used to be shocked to be taught that a lot of what pet homeowners take into consideration this additive appears to be based mostly on outdated proof. Let’s talk about carrageenan’s function in cat meals, the controversy surrounding this ingredient, and a few options to carrageenan.

The Function of Carrageenan in Cat Meals

Carrageenan is a standard additive in meals made for each pets and other people. It thickens, stabilizes, and emulsifies mixtures. Mainly, it improves the product’s stability and retains particular person elements from separating.

In human meals, you’ll discover carrageenan in ice cream, yogurt, and even soy milk. It’s additionally used as an emulsifier in private care merchandise like toothpaste, liquid soaps, and hair merchandise. In pet meals, carrageenan is usually utilized in high-moisture merchandise like canned cat meals.

Although it might sound like a chemical additive, carrageenan is derived from crimson seaweed. Carrageenan is probably the most generally used time period for this ingredient, however it might additionally seem on pet meals labels as vegetable gum, vegetable gelatin, or crimson seaweed extract. Most cat meals comprise carrageenan.^[1]

Undegraded vs. Degraded Carrageenan

Carrageenan is discovered in lots of cat meals, each canned and dry kibble. Nils Jacobi / Shutterstock.com

A fast Web seek for carrageenan yields some complicated outcomes. Numerous web sites point out that carrageenan is linked to immune reactions, irritation, and digestive points. Some even name it a carcinogen. Nonetheless, the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) and quite a few regulatory our bodies worldwide acknowledge carrageenan as a protected meals additive. So, what’s the reality?

A better look into these search outcomes reveals that a lot of what’s written about carrageenan in pet meals has been debunked.^[2] Early research had been performed utilizing a type of carrageenan that’s not utilized in pet meals. There are two sorts of carrageen: undegraded carrageenan (food-grade) and degraded carrageenan.

Carrageenan is a pure substance present in crimson seaweed. Its excessive molecular weight prevents it from being absorbed throughout digestion.^[3]

When carrageenan is subjected to excessive warmth and acid in a lab, it degrades into one thing with a very completely different molecular construction—poligeenan. Poligeenan is an artificial substance with a low molecular weight, so it may be absorbed within the intestines.^[4]

Lots of the early research used poligeenan as an alternative of food-grade carrageenan, however they don’t seem to be interchangeable. Poligeenan does set off gastrointestinal irritation, immune reactions, and digestive points like inflammatory bowel illness. Research haven’t proven that food-grade carrageenan acts the identical method.

Outdated Carrageenan Analysis

In the event you’re questioning how one thing like this might go unnoticed for thus lengthy, you’re not alone. I requested Dr. Jo Myers, DVM, a veterinarian at Vetster, to assist me perceive. Right here’s how she defined it:

“Amongst different elements, the early research confused the related terminology and didn’t design their experiments to replicate real-life conditions, so the conclusion that carrageenan is harmful was ultimately debunked.”

A 2018 overview printed in Crucial Evaluations in Meals Science and Vitamin helps this suggestion. “Partly, this confusion was because of the nomenclature utilized in early research on [carrageenan], the place poligeenan was known as ‘degraded carrageenan’ (d-CGN) and ‘degraded carrageenan’ was merely known as carrageenan.” Whereas the nomenclature has been up to date, misinterpretation of that early knowledge has led to the “subsequent dissemination of incorrect info concerning the protected dietary use of [carrageenan].”^[5]

Regardless of new research supporting the security of carrageenan, a small inhabitants continues to unfold unsupported claims about its risks. Lots of them cite analysis performed by Joanne Tobacman. Tobacman’s analysis targeted on the inflammatory results of carrageenan. She prompt that even low-level irritation linked to carrageenan consumption may, over time, contribute to severe illnesses like coronary heart illness, Alzheimer’s, and most cancers.^[6]

Different researchers have tried to copy Tobacman’s outcomes—they usually’ve all failed. This calls into query the validity of Tobacman’s analysis. In 2008, the FDA even despatched a letter on to Tobacman refuting her claims towards the security of carrageenan. The FDA additionally denied Tobacman’s 2012 petition to ban using carrageenan in america.

So Is Carrageenan Protected for Cats?

Carrageenan is a standard meals ingredient and is usually accepted to be protected. Roman Sansonov / Shutterstock.com

Sure, the final consensus amongst scientists is that pure carrageenan is a protected meals additive. The FDA continues to incorporate food-grade carrageenan in its listing of “Usually Acknowledged as Protected” (GRAS) human meals components. The World Well being Group (WHO) and United Nations Meals and Agriculture Group (FAO) have additionally accredited its use in animal meals.

All this being stated, extra analysis is required. Quite a few research have debunked the idea that carrageenan triggers detrimental well being results like irritation and toxicity. However a number of scientific critiques have additionally famous a lack of definitive knowledge on the long-term security and results of carrageenan.^[7]

Dr. Neus Torrent, DVM, a veterinarian and animal nutritionist for Out of doors Bengal, says “The proof concerning carrageenan’s security stays inconclusive, with some research indicating potential hurt and others suggesting it’s protected for consumption.”

The scientific group appears to be of the thoughts that, except severe well being results are found in future research, carrageenan must be thought-about protected. Dr. Myers places it this fashion: “There isn’t a scientific proof backing up any security considerations about carrageenan in cat meals, so there’s no must keep away from it.”

Carrageenan Alternate options

Texturizing elements like carrageenan are unlikely to influence your cat meals’s general make-up. However we don’t have conclusive knowledge on the long-term results of carrageenan consumption in cats. In the event you and your vet determine it’s best to keep away from it, search for a cat meals model that advertises carrageenan-free merchandise.

Listed below are a couple of manufacturers that supply carrageenan-free moist meals formulation:

Pet meals producers that don’t use carrageenan could use various elements to thicken or emulsify their merchandise. Among the commonest options are plant-derived polysaccharide hydrocolloids like guar gum or sodium alginate.^[8]

Nonetheless, animal-derived options like animal plasma or gelatin could also be extra species-appropriate for cats. “Gelatin serves related functions [to carrageenan] by way of texture and stability, however it’s 100% protein,” says Dr. Torrent, “So, it’s extra digestible and will increase the dietary worth of the meals.”

To wrap issues up, Dr. Myers gives the next recommendation to cat homeowners: “In the event you’re uncertain whether or not a nutrition-related query is reality or fiction, contacting a licensed veterinary skilled is vital.”