Is there any risk for IBD or colon cancer associated with Carragelose®?

There have been reports that carrageenan may induce IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) or colon cancer, mainly based on experiments with rats that have been fed with a diet containing very high concentrations of degraded carrageenan. Carrageenan is used in three different subtypes: iota, kappa, and lambda carrageenan that differ in their structure with respect to the number of sulfate groups. While lambda carrageenan has been shown to have pro-inflammatory properties, iota and kappa carrageenan have not such a potential. The raw material for the Carragelose® products is tested for the presence of lambda-carrageenan and also the size of the polymer is tested. Carragelose® (iota-carrageenan) is free of lambda-carrageenan and has a mean size of more than 1 million Dalton (very large) and it is also free of degraded components. Taken together, the use of Carragelose® products poses no risk of developing IBD or colon cancer as they are devoid of lambda-carrageenan and degraded carrageenan. In addition, the daily intake is magnitudes lower compared to the maximum daily intake. The maximum daily intake of carrageenan has been set to 75 mg/kg/day for humans (4,500 mg/day in case of 60 kg body weight) and is much higher compared to the amount of carrageenan in Carragelose® products even if they are extensively used. The nasal spray contains 1.2 mg/ml iota-carrageenan and a use of 4 times daily results in 1.34 mg/day, six lozenges would result in 60 mg iota-carrageenan.