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HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES Learn more About EWG VERIFIED™

Data: Good

Carrageenan

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (moderate)

SYNONYMS

● CARRAGEENAN
● CARRAGEENIN
● CHONDRUS
● CHONDRUS CRISPUS (CARRAGEENAN)
● IRISH MOSS
● IRISH MOSS EXTRACT

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation

Carrageenan is a gelatinous polysaccharide material obtained from red seeweed (marine algae).

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • LOW
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • LOW
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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toothpaste134 products
mask116 products
serums & essences39 products
around-eye cream34 products
moisturizer30 products
body wash/cleanser30 products
facial cleanser22 products
shampoo19 products
facial moisturizer/treatment18 products
exfoliant/scrub18 products
foundation12 products
hair styling aide11 products
hair treatment/serum11 products
bath oil/salts/soak10 products
hair color and bleaching8 products
baby toothpaste8 products
styling gel/lotion8 products
conditioner8 products
tooth whitening8 products
hand cream6 products
recreational sunscreen5 products
antiperspirant/deodorant5 products
bronzer/highlighter5 products
after sun product4 products
blush4 products
daily use with SPF3 products
liquid hand soap3 products
hair spray3 products
toners/astringents3 products
styling mousse/foam2 products
anti-aging2 products
lip plumper2 products
makeup remover2 products
bar soap2 products
hand sanitizer2 products
skin fading/lightener2 products
2 products
brow liner2 products
baby soap2 products
baby shampoo2 products
body firming lotion2 products
lip balm1 products
body oil1 products
glitter1 products
tanning oil1 products
mascara1 products
nail treatment1 products
setting powder/spray1 products
after shave1 products
cuticle treatment1 products
baby lotion1 products

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as a high human health priorityEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Designated as safe for general or specific, limited use in foodFDA Everything Added to Food

Informational

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Industry or government recommendations for safe use: restrictions on concentration, impurities, product types, or manufacturing methods - anyOpen scientific literature

Cancer

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not likely to be carcinogenic in humansInt'l Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) - Carcinogens

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
10968 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer). 2008. Overall Evaluations of Carcinogenicity to Humans, as evaluated in IARC Monographs Volumes 1-99 (a total of 935 agents, mixtures and exposures).
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED™ mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend
WEIGHT-OF-EVIDENCE APPROACH

A product’s hazard score is not an average of the ingredients’ hazard scores. It is calculated using a weight-of-evidence approach that factors in all of the hazards or health impacts associated with the ingredients.

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability
NONE

Ingredients have not been assessed.

LIMITED-FAIR

There is only a modest volume of research.

GOOD-ROBUST

Ingredients have been studied extensively.

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