Though wildly popular, commercial almond milk may not be all that it is cracked up to be. It often contains many additives that are linked with health problems in some people–including carrageenan. The commercial brands contain very few almonds and instead rely on a mixture of synthetic and industrialized additives to give it the thick texture and sweet taste consumers have come to enjoy. In fact, there are so few almonds in commercial almond milk that some people are now suing food manufacturers for misleading consumers…
“The success of almond milk rests heavily on its health appeal to consumers which attorney James C. Kelly says is part of the problem.
“It’s being marketed as a healthy premium product because it is made from almonds, when it barely contains any almonds. The product is really developed from thickening agents to create a milk-like substitute that tastes very much like milk. The wrongdoing is really hitting home on a large scale,” he said.
Kelly’s clients, Tracy Albert and Dimitrios Malaxianis are suing two of the largest almond milk producers in the U.S., Blue Diamond, and WhiteWave, which makes Silk and So Delicious, for improperly labeling their almond milk…[His clients are] angry regarding the lack of almonds and the high amounts of carrageenan [a thickening agent] and want labeling changes in the industry.
Kelly says there are about 38 almonds in a half gallon of Blue Diamond and Silk almond milks, and there should be 144-192 almonds to achieve the creamy texture. That means 74%-80% of these products are actually made from thickening agents and other additives…
The good news for almond milk lovers is that carrageenan, a thickening agent extracted from red seaweed, has already been removed from WhiteWave’s almond milks and Blue Diamond has also recently announced plans that they will start removing the additive from its products as well.”
Chemical Free Life 