Semi Refined Kappa Carrageenan
Semi Refined Kappa Carrageenan is a sulphated galactan produced from the red seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii by alkali treatment of the whole weed, without dissolving and reprecipitating the polysaccharide. It is also known as processed Eucheuma seaweed.
The polymer is a chain of alternating 3-linked β-D-galactose-4-sulphate and 4-linked 3,6-anhydro-α-D-galactose. Alkali cooking converts precursor units into the anhydro form, which is what allows the chains to adopt a helix and set a gel. Because the cellulosic cell wall is never removed, the finished powder still contains roughly 8 to 15 percent acid insoluble matter, and that is the defining difference from refined carrageenan.
The powder is cream to light tan with a faint seaweed odour, coarser and darker than refined grades. It needs heating above about 70 degrees Celsius to dissolve, and on cooling in the presence of potassium ions it sets a firm, brittle, thermo-reversible gel that shows syneresis unless locust bean gum is present. Solutions are stable at neutral and alkaline pH and hydrolyse under hot acid conditions, so it is added late in acidic processes. Reactivity with milk protein, driven by the sulphate groups binding to casein, is the property behind its dominant use in dairy.
We source bulk Semi Refined Kappa Carrageenan from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Fujian. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Thickener / Hydrocolloid
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Cream to light tan powder |
| Odour | Faint characteristic seaweed odour |
| Identification | Infrared spectrum characteristic of kappa carrageenan |
| Gel Strength, 1.5% in 0.2% KCl | 800 to 1,200 g/cm² |
| Viscosity, 1.5% at 75 °C | ≥ 20 mPa.s |
| Acid Insoluble Matter | 8 to 15% |
| Loss on Drying | ≤ 12% |
| Sulphate, as sulphate | 15 to 40% |
| Total Ash | 15 to 40% |
| pH, 1% solution | 8.0 to 11.0 |
| Lead | ≤ 2.0 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | ≤ 3.0 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count | ≤ 5,000 cfu/g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
Two commercial routes exist within the semi refined family. Gel press or washed grades are alkali cooked, washed and dried and are cleared for food use in most markets. Alkali modified flour, where the cook liquor is dried down with the weed, retains more salts and colour and is generally traded for pet food and technical use.
Within food grades the specifications that matter are gel strength in a potassium chloride solution, viscosity, acid insoluble matter, colour and mesh. Standardised blends are the norm rather than the exception: material is blended with sucrose, dextrose or salts to a declared gel strength, and application blends combining kappa carrageenan with locust bean gum, konjac or potassium chloride are sold for specific meat, dairy and dessert uses. Bleached and unbleached versions are offered, bleached material going where a pale finished product is required.
Applications
- Injected and tumbled ham and poultry, binding brine and raising cooked yield
- Restructured and emulsified meat products, forming a heat set matrix that reduces liquid release in the pack
- Chocolate milk and dairy drinks, suspending cocoa particles through the casein interaction at very low dose
- Flans, custards and milk desserts, setting a clean firm gel on cooling
- Water jellies and dessert gels, in combination with locust bean gum to suppress syneresis
- Processed cheese and cheese analogues, contributing firmness and slice integrity
- Pet food chunk in jelly and loaf products, setting the jelly phase and holding shape after retorting
- Air freshener and gel candle bases, as a non food use of lower grade material
- Toothpaste and personal care gels, as a binder and structuring agent
China Manufacturers of Semi Refined Kappa Carrageenan
Top Semi Refined Kappa Carrageenan manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
The European Union authorises processed Eucheuma seaweed as E407a under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, listed separately from refined carrageenan, which is E407. The specifications regulation distinguishes the two by acid insoluble matter, and the E407a listing carries its own conditions of use, including restrictions on use in infant formula.
In the United States carrageenan is a permitted food additive under 21 CFR 172.620, and semi refined material is marketed under the carrageenan listing. The National Organic Program has also addressed carrageenan in organic labelling. JECFA has evaluated carrageenan and processed Eucheuma seaweed and published specifications for both, and Codex covers them in the General Standard for Food Additives as thickeners, gelling agents and stabilisers. Carrageenan use in infant formula has been reviewed repeatedly and remains restricted in several jurisdictions, so the intended application should be checked against the market of sale.
Manufacturing Process
Dried Kappaphycus alvarezii is cleaned of sand, shell and rope, then cooked in a hot alkaline solution of potassium hydroxide. Potassium is used deliberately: it keeps the carrageenan gelled inside the seaweed cell so that it does not leach into the cook liquor, while the alkali eliminates sulphate from precursor units to build the 3,6-anhydrogalactose that gives gel strength. Cooking conditions set the balance between the gel strength gained and the polymer broken down.
The cooked weed is drained and washed repeatedly with fresh water to remove residual alkali, salts and soluble impurities, sometimes with a hypochlorite or peroxide bleaching step for pale grades. The washed weed is dewatered mechanically, dried in a hot air or rotary dryer, then milled and screened. Because the polysaccharide is never dissolved and precipitated, cellulose from the cell wall stays in the product, which is why acid insoluble matter is high and the process is far less solvent intensive than refined carrageenan manufacture. Finished powder is blended with sugars or salts to a standardised gel strength before packing.
