Based on a decision announced this week, the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB)--a body that advises the U.S. Department of Agriculture--will no longer permit carrageenan to be used as an additive in organic food.
Carrageenan is a soluble fiber derived from red seaweed and a food ingredient that has been used for hundreds of years across the globe. It was commonly used in the kitchens of Irish coastal communities, who harvested Chondrus crispus, known as carraigín moss, from the rocky waters along Carrigan Head, giving it its unique name.