Last week my SIL (that’s an acronym for sister-in-law) sent me an article about food coloring coming from bugs. Sure, I knew it was reality (and FDA approved) but its one of those things I can’t think about too much or I’ll start turning over the label of everything I consume checking code words for bug bits. Kind of like the first time I learned what hot dogs were made of, I was 13 and that’s the very last time I ate one. Or during microbiology when I learned about triconosis – you guessed it, no more pork for me (not that I liked it anyway). Now bug bits?
Carmine is a red food coloring made from, you guessed it, dried ground bugs. Not just any bug but the Dactylopius coccus costa insect that resides in South America. Apparently these bugs love red berries. So much so that the berries accumulate in the stomaches of the females and their little baby larvae. I’m not sure what scientist figured this out or if it was a small child that started smashing them like fireflies only to find out they have a brilliant red hue. I’m sure if I was a child growing up in the South America, I would have figured that one out. But I certainly wouldn’t have thought of capitalizing on the idea by creating red food coloring from the smashed bugs.
So, how will you know if you are ingesting color from smashed up bugs? You won’t. If it’s red and says “artificial coloring”, chances are good that you are eating the little buggers. By the end of 2010, the word carmine or cochineal should appear on labels. In the meantime, if you prefer not to ingest red food coloring made from insects, choose foods and beverages with natural colors – many of these are found in the health food section in your grocery store, in Whole Foods or in products that only use natural colors such as vitaminwater. In the meantime, products like Sobe LifeWater yumberry pomegranate don’t look so yummy to me with cochineal listed under the nutrition ingredients. Aside from the ik factor, food coloring made from this insect can lead to adverse allergic reactions. Thanks but I also don’t need puffy eyes and a swollen face thanks to a little food dye.
Even though this red food coloring is FDA approved for use, I’d prefer to leave insects out of my body and outside where they belong.