Eucheuma

A genus of red seaweeds abundant along the shores of the southwest Pacific and Indian Ocean. Species such as Eucheuma cottonii and E. spinosum are a commercially important source of carrageenans, the gelling and thickening agents used in dairy products, desserts and processed meats. Farmed extensively in the Philippines, Indonesia and Tanzania on nearshore lines, Eucheuma supports hundreds of thousands of smallholder livelihoods. Alkali-treated seaweed is processed into refined and semi-refined carrageenan (E407/E407a), whose gelling and stabilising properties are essential in chocolate milk, ice cream and deli meats.