6. Interaction with food products

6.1 Dairy products

The high chemical reactivity of carrageenans is mainly due to the strong negative charge of the ester-sulfate groups, comparable to sulfuric acid in this respect. Carrageenans on the market correspond to sodium, potassium or calcium salts, or mixtures thereof, as the free acid forms are unstable. The counterion used depends on the application for which the carrageenan is intended, and its association with the structure of the units making up the polymer determines the carrageenan's physical properties.

One of the main characteristics of carrageenans is their high reactivity with proteins, mainly proteins of milky origin. This property can be observed in both gelling and non-gelling carrageenans.

Interaction with milk...