Are we eating / drinking insects?

[Guest guest]

Carmine is derived from the cochineal beetle, a scale

insect that is crushed to create a red dye.

 

Cochineal extract (for red color) can be masked,

included as a " natural ingredient. " Its being claimed

that carmine and cochineal are natural colors.

Apparently, FDA defines a natural color as: " a natural

color is derived from animal, plant or mineral

sources. "

 

Cochineal and its derivative carminic acid have a long

history going back to pre-Hispanic Mexico when the

Mixtec Indians used the dried and ground insects to

create a color-fast red dye for fabrics.

 

In the 1900's cochineal-derived dyes began to appear

as a food color in pork sausage, pies, dried fish and

shrimp, candies, pills, jams, lipstick, rouge, and

bright red maraschino cherries.

 

Because red aniline dyes 2 and 40 are both believed to

be carcinogenic, cochineal is now being reconsidered

as a safe food dye.

 

Cochineal extract are used in some red, pink, or

purple candy, yogurt, Compari, ice cream, beverages,

and many other foods, as well as drugs and cosmetics.

 

 

 

" The cat did not respond. She did not believe in paraphrasing anybody. If

people pursued this same feline wisdom, there'd be a lot fewer

misunderstandings. "

From Kinky Friedman's

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch