Okay, so brace yourself, but did you know that some foods that are colored red {think: ketchup, yogurts, Starbucks frappucinnos} use a red dye that is made from grinding up cochineal insects?
Added protein anyone?
The cochineal insect lives on cactus plants. The females eat the red cactus berries–giving them their red colored bodies. When you crush the insect, you are left with a bright red residue. They are typically found in Mexico and South America–and there are actually farmers who dedicate their lives to raising and harvesting these little critters. Yum-O! The super crazy thing is that it takes about 70,000 bugs to make just one pound of dye! After they are killed and dried, they are crushed, a little water is added, and BOOM! you have red dye.
Next time you pick up a yogurt, ketchup, etc. flip over the package and read the label. If it reads carminic acid, carmine, or cochineal extract, you are eating bugs. Here’s the thing, I think I would much rather eat products dyed with bugs than ones dyed with chemicals like red #40. What do you think?
~Mavis
Jessica says
Agreed!
andy6ft4 says
I found out about this from a program called “food unwrapped”
You can find the series on youtube.
Lots of interesting and surprising info about whats actually in your food.
darlene says
Yes, I would rather eat bugs than something chemically produced. Most other countries eat bugs as a source of protein, so why not?
Cindy says
As much as I hate to admit this……………..BLECH–I’d rather eat bugs than chemicals!!!!
Rosaleen says
Better the carmine dye than some other chemicals, but why dye the food? Catchup should be red enough from tomatoes. If it is a little pale, so what? We are somewhat used to cheese slices being yellow, but the white ones taste the same. White cheddar is as tasty as yellow cheddar. Let the food be its natural color.
Kelly F says
Absolutely agree – I would SO much rather eat bugs than that nasty Red 40! My 3-year-old is allergic to it and since discovering that, it opened my eyes to the horrors of the chemical food dyes in our food supply. Our family says no to chemical food coloring! 🙂
Elizabeth says
Yep! Give me the bugs any day.
Kathy Barlean says
Those little critters have been dying foods for decades. When I first heard that was how hotdogs got there red color, I refused to eat them for years. Knowing what I do now about processed food, I’d much rather eat bugs than the toxic chemicals.
Tammy says
I’d rather not eat bugs OR Red #40. I avoid red #40 like the plague because of how my daughter reacts to the dye. I don’t know that I buy anything with the cochineal coloring but it’s possible.
Denea says
Why not just use the berries for the dye? I really try not to buy foods with artificial dyes. My kids were not happy about that decision!
Jeannette says
I agree with Denea about using berries for dyes – or beets or no dye at all. Bugs are definitely better than the chemical dyes. Up until the 1950’s Cochineal insects are what made the red coats of the British army red (I like my trivia), and they are completely safe to farm and consume. Synthetic red dyes, on the other hand, often contain cadmium which we have no biological need for and is toxic. Out there somewhere is someone, who is probably underpaid, mining it out of the ground and dealing with vats of the stuff – and that’s only one ingredient. No doubt, there are other nasty ingredients in the chemical soup of synthetic dyes.
Teresa Cline says
cochineal insects:
ok if you would like to read more about the color red there is a great book on
this subject
The Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield
it talks about how this insect was as valuable as gold!
really
a historical book and very interesting, even though it might not be everyone’s cup of tea
Hazel says
I’m okay with the insects, and I am also okay with the red dye (no allergies here, so I do not have any reason to avoid it). I do have a good chuckle at the people who claim that they want to avoid all chemicals, as WATER is a chemical! Many things are chemicals and they are totally safe. Sorry, chem major here, always get a good laugh at the “Chemicals bad!” people 🙂
It is a shock how many insects are crushed to make such a small amount of dye. I don’t need my strawberry shakes to be vivid red, I just care about the taste. 😀