Red Dye Made From Bugs

[monku]

On Food Detectives they were talking about natural food dyes and the red food dye ingredient is cochineal or carmine. Cochineal is a beetle from Central and South American and they crush the carcasses of the bugs which produces the red color. It's been used for centuries as a dye.
Its found in dozens of foods, beverages and cosmetics. FDA requires they list the ingredient caochineal or carmine because some people may be allergic to it. It's not found in Kosher products because dietary laws prohibit insects or parts in foods.
At the end Ted Allen held up a piece of red velvet cake, but some recipes call for beet juice to give it a red color.

[chowser]

It was listed as "natural dye" but with allergies and vegetarians, I'm glad to hear the FDA has made companies list it. At some point M&Ms and other candy coating were made with shellac, also made from bugs, but many aren't any more. I think apples might still be coated with it.

[Kajikit]

It's nothing new... I think I'd rather have a dye made from a natural substance than one made from coal tar or petrochemicals! At least bugs are theoretically edible.

[monku]

Looking at a bottle of red food coloring from Walmart, it has the Kosher OU symbol on the box and the color ingredient is red 40 and 3. Red dye #40 is derived from coal, but #3 according to the FDA can be carcinogenic in lab animals in high doses, but the risk is no larger than 1 in 100,000 over a lifetime of consumption.

[flylice2x]

Love the stuff...not artificial...real protein...

[corgette]

I'm surprised people still don't know this.

[evewitch]

My roommate and I were discussing this a week ago. I don't know why it came up, but he didn't know either.

[corgette]

I had always assumed it was common knowledge in the realm of food history. Then again, people apparently are still shocked that Coca Cola actually contained *gasp* cocaine in its original formula.

[Passadumkeg]

Corgie, Coca Cola is still the largest legal user of coca leaves, but they are "detoxed".

[corgette]

Well Marky, thanks! That sure is interesting.

[alkapal]

things *do* go better with coke!

[Ruth Lafler]

I don't know why it's suddenly a big deal, but I remember last week listening to something where some woman was talking in horrified tones about "bug parts" in cosmetics and acting like it was unsanitary and dangerous. All I could think was, how stupid!

[soypower]

My cousin tried to gross me out with this information today. But for some reason, it didn't bother me. I figured it would be better using all natural bug parts than some potentially cancer-causing chemicals...

[AnneInMpls]

Bugs are tasty! Carmine *used* to provide the red color in my beloved Campari liqueur, but it was changed to artificial coloring about two years ago. Ruined the taste, in my opinion, but now Campari is kosher (and vegan). I'm down to my last drops of the old version - waaa!

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/407351

Anne

[monku]

Interesting that one of the posts you referred to says that cochineal and carmine are certified Kosher colors.