Beetlemania :-(

[Guest guest]

From The Wall Street Journal, January 26th

 

Food makers may not want to dwell on it, but the ingredient that gives Dannon

Boysenberry yogurt and Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit juice their distinctive

colors comes from crushed female cochineal beetles.

 

Too much information? Some consumers would say there hasn't been nearly

enough.

 

Pressed by consumer advocates, the Food and Drug Administration is expected

to publish a food-labeling proposal online today that would require companies

to disclose when a food contains beetle-derived colorings including vivid-red

" carmine " and bright-orange " cochineal " (pronounced coach-in-EEL). The public

has 60 days to comment before a final ruling is made.

 

Under current FDA regulations, food labels must identify certain man-made

colorings by name, such as FD & C Red No. 40. But for carmine, cochineal and other

naturally occurring ingredients, companies can use terms such as " color added "

or, oddly, " artificial color. "

 

Bugged by the loophole, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a

Washington public-health advocacy group, and a small but vocal group of

consumers

who are allergic to the ingredients have pushed for stiffer rules. Joining

the chorus are vegetarians, who don't want to eat insects, and consumers

observing kosher dietary practices. Products containing carmine " may look like

kosher, " but they aren't, says Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief operating officer of

the

kosher division of the Orthodox Union, a leading certifier of kosher products.

" There are a lot of people who will not be happy to know that they are eating

products that contain dried beetle. " (Ya think?)

 

A petition CSPI submitted to the FDA in 1998 and complaints from allergic

consumers spurred the FDA's proposal today. The petition suggested that labels

disclose carmine or cochineal content with the language, " Artificial color:

carmine/cochineal extract (insect based). " The food industry objects, both to

the

word " insect " and the use of " artificial color " together with " carmine " and

" cochineal. "

 

" That lengthy type of description is likely to be unnecessary, " says Robert

Earl, senior director of nutrition policy at Food Products Association, a food-

and beverage-industry group. " It's not part of the requirement for other

animal-derived ingredients. Lard is 'lard.' It doesn't say 'pork' after it.

'Milk'

doesn't say 'from cow.' 'Butter' doesn't say 'from cow.' "

 

The FDA's proposal will drop the word " insect " and require that the coloring

ingredients be labeled as vivid-red " carmine " or bright-orange " cochineal, "

says FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza.

 

Some food companies -- Dannon Co.; PepsiCo Inc., the maker of Tropicana; and

General Mills Inc., the maker of Yoplait yogurt -- have already begun listing

" carmine " on labels by name. Others have taken steps to eliminate carmine from

products, replacing it in some cases with synthetic colorings. In April 2002,

Dannon replaced carmine with FD & C Red No. 40 in some Light 'n Fit yogurts,

including strawberry and raspberry flavors, says company spokesman Michael

Neuwirth.

 

Even when they are clearly listed on the label, cochineal and carmine remain

a mystery to many consumers. Spaniards found Mexicans cultivating the red

cochineal beetles in 1518. Today, the bugs are raised on farms in Peru, Mexico

and

the Canary Islands, where they feed on cacti. The bodies of female beetles

are dried, ground and heated, and the colored powder is filtered out. It takes

70,000 beetles to make one pound of marketable carmine.

 

Demand for cochineal products plummeted after the arrival of synthetic colors

in the 19th century, but interest in them has revived in recent years, along

with other naturally derived colors. The current global market for

cochineal-derived products is estimated at between $30 million and $40 million a

year.

 

The cochineal pigment also is used in cosmetics and textiles. " It's the most

stable, natural color, " says Tracy Mattingly, product developer at German

chemicals maker Degussa AG, which makes products containing the cochineal

pigment.

It yields colors ranging from orange to strawberry-red to magenta.

 

Although food companies have long maintained that the pigment is safe and

allergies are rare, some consumers have severe reactions. Keri Riegger, a

39-year-old full-time mother from Ann Arbor, Mich., still recalls the purple

candy

she consumed 11 years ago and the anaphylactic-shock reaction that followed: Her

face swelled and breathing was difficult. Eight years ago, she drank

grapefruit juice and experienced the same reaction. Only after the juice

ingredients

were analyzed was her allergy finally diagnosed. Now, Ms. Riegger avoids red

and purple candy and reddish salad dressings.

 

Vegetarians are rooting for the label change. A year ago, while sitting at a

movie theater, Lucinda Hoffmaster first saw the word " carmine " on a box of

Hershey Co.'s Good & Plenty candies. Not knowing what the word meant, the

Montgomery, Ala., resident went home and Googled the word. " I was just

horrified, "

recalls the 57-year-old Ms. Hoffmaster, the mother of two vegetarian daughters.

" I am thinking, 'Why do they put dried bugs' carcasses in a candy, a product

marketed for children more so than adults?' " She has since stopped eating the

candy. Hershey declined to comment.

 

*Products containing cochineal-derived colorings:

 

Good & Plenty Candy

Dannon Fruit on the Bottom Boysenberry Yogurt

Yoplait thick & creamy low fat strawberry yogurt

Tropicana ruby red grapefruit juice

Sobe Courage cherry citrus drink

 

TM