SIAP eyes info drive in US to stop bad claims against carrageenan
THE Seaweed Industry Association of the Philippines (SIAP) is taking steps to prove that carrageenan is not harmful to humans.
Marcial Solante Jr., SIAP board secretary, said in briefing last Tuesday that the group had tasked two independent groups to do a study proving that “carrageenan is safe for humans.”
SIAP will also publish this study in papers in the United States and present the study at the 2013 American College of Toxicology meeting on Nov. 3 to 6 in Texas.
Solante said SIAP came up with these information campaign measures to counter an American scientist’s study claiming that carrageenan is a carcinogenic.
US FDA petitions
SIAP said Dr. Joanne Tobacman from the University of Illinois had filed five petitions to the US Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to ban carrageenan claiming it could cause cancer to humans.
Article continues after this advertisementTobacman used her study as basis for the claim supporting the petition.
Article continues after this advertisementThe US FDA, however, rejected Tobacman’s petitions in 2012.
According to a recent US FDA letter rejecting Tobacman’s request, the data did not support Tobacman’s request.
Carrageenan is a substance taken from seaweed and used as an ingredient in food additives.
It is also a component of most personal care, pharmaceutical and industrial products.
TOP SUPPLIER
The country supplies 50 percent to 56 percent carrageenan in the world market followed by China and Indonesia.
According to Solante, the petition has a great impact in the Philippine economy since seaweed is one of the top 10 dollar earners in the country.
Tobacman’s petition has resulted in a reduction of 20 percent to 25 percent in demand of seaweed supply in the country.
Seaweeds is one of the basic source of livelihood in the country specifically from the Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao area which produces 60 percent to 70 percent as contributor of seaweeds in the country.
“ We will conduct a scientific study against her own logical conclusions,” Solante said.
The carrageenan produced in the Philippines has undergone the required scientific researches and tests by BIBRA (British Industrial Biological Research Association) of UK and UP food science in order to qualify as safe for human consumptions.
He added that Philippines is the number one country in the world producing seaweeds, and the industry generates jobs for more than 200,000 families of which 90 percent are seaweed farmers in the country.
The SIAP also suspected that there are companies behind Tobacman’s conclusions that wanted to replace the carrageenan as hydro-colloids for food applications.
Gelatin, stars, locust, and other examples of hydro-colloids could replace the carrageenan, which is extracted from the seaweeds, Solante said.
“ This information is a big threat to the seaweed industry. If we don’t act on it now, this will slow down the productivity and cause economic difficulty, especially for seaweed farmers,” said Agham Party-list Rep. Angelo B. Palmones. /Correspondent Joy L. Padayhag and Intern Jannica Nina G. Papelleras
