Food coloring extracted from beetles now must be clarified: opinions?

United States
January 11, 2011 2:15pm CST
Hi everyone! I recently came across this news article which proclaims that starting January 5, carmine (also known as cochineal extract), which is a food coloring extract usually put into red or pinkish foods and obtained from a certain breed of beetle, now must be clarified as cochineal or carmine in a food's ingredient list. Before this new rule put into effect because of some people's allergic reactions, it was sometimes labeled as "Red 4" or a part of "artificial color". This coloring has been known to be found in ice cream, candy, lipstick, fruit juice, and anything that needs a deep red color. My question is this: what are your feelings on this? Do you believe that the consumers of food should know what is in it? Did you, as a consumer, even have an idea that such ingredients are commonly used? As a long time vegan, I have been aware of cochineal/carmine extract for many years now, and have avoided it because it is an animal. However, if this is something that causes near deaths and allergic reactions, I believe a consumer has the right to know. Unless an ingredient has negative effects such as this, however, I think that those consumers who want to avoid certain ingredients, like myself, need to take it upon themselves to research the foods they eat. So far, for example, gelatin and glycerin, an ingredient in marshmallows, jello, and other such foods, hasn't been known to cause any allergic reactions, but it is made from the process of boiling animal bones (teeth, bones, and hooves) to create a consistency that is spongy and/or gelatinous. Harmful? No. Good to know? For some people, such as myself! What are your feelings on odd ingredients and the names companies use to distract their actual sources? Here is the article, and this is NOT a referral link: http://www.livescience.com/health/beetles-used-for-artificial-coloring-110111.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Livesciencecom+%28LiveScience.com+Science+Headline+Feed%29
1 person likes this
3 responses
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
11 Jan 11
The gelatin I knew about for years and recently heard about the red dye. I am trying to eliminate the red dye out of my diet, and have not on purposely eaten gelatin. I do believe the public has the right to know what they are eating, because some people don't consume some things that other people eat. For example, I don't eat pork or shellfish, and so I want to know if anything like that is in a dish I am about to eat.
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jan 11
Yes they should make it clear, but you know what Gameslayer, if they did that, I wonder how much food people would stop eating???If they only knew..
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jan 11
We certainly do have the right to know! Technically we could learn on our own, but not everyone would understand. Products should be 100% clear on their ingredients, so clear that a child would understand. Why not put this product contains animal byproducts?
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jan 11
I have learned quite a bit more than I anticipated from this. I must say that people would not eat as much random crap if they knew what was in it, really in it.
1 person likes this
• United States
11 Jan 11
This is very interesting. I definitely believe product labeling should include accurate ingredients. Isn't red 4 a little misleading? I heard that yellow 5 lowered your sperm count but didn't believe it. I thought it was a myth but maybe there is some substance to it. I honestly had no idea there was "beetlejuice" in so many items. In fact I didn't know it was used at all.
• United States
11 Jan 11
That's interesting about the yellow 5! I wonder if that has any factual basis. Although I think that companies should be able to use whatever ingredients they want (as long as they are unharmful), I still think it's a bit suspicious to put ingredients such as this in products under labeling like "Red 4". What harm would it be to simply list what it was: cochineal and carmine extract? After all, only those who look it up would know it was made from insects, so they couldn't possibly lose business! It makes a person wonder about all the ingredients they find different names for...
1 person likes this
• United States
12 Jan 11
Well said. There are many labels that don't add up when it comes to ingredients. Not everyone knows what cochineal extract means, why not be honest? Shouldn't it say food coloring from beetle extract?
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@petersum (4522)
• United States
11 Jan 11
I think most of these old, traditional, animal sourced items have been replaced by synthetic substances long ago. There is certainly no need to extract dyes from beetles anymore. Gelatin is also synthetic. The only thing I would miss from teeth, bones and hooves is a decent glue!
• United States
11 Jan 11
You'd be surprised how many ingredients are still manufactured from animals, simply because it's usually cheaper. Now although glycerin can be synthetic, in most cases it is derived from the left over parts of hooves and bones, as it is cheaper (after all, what else could that be used for?). Do you feel that the general public has the right to be aware of different ingredients altogether? How about if they have the ability to be dangerous? How do you feel about grouping a bunch of ingredients together under a general term, such as "artificial colors and flavors"?
1 person likes this
• United States
11 Jan 11
I wondered if what petersum said is right, because I though gelatin was made from animals parts. This is why I have slowly started eliminating it from my diet. I wouldn't want to eat it if it was from animal or synthetic, both I don't think should be eaten..