Consuming Red Food Dye May Mean You're Eating Bugs

by Tara Lohan · 2010-07-09 13:30:00 UTC
Topics:

It's hard to fathom how many insects we actually eat. I'm sure there are tons in the fields that get plowed into our wheat and other grains on a daily basis. But then there are the bugs that are intentionally put in our food, like the companies which use the female cochineal, described as a "cactus-loving insect," in order to add a reddish color to foods like ice cream, yogurt, juice, tomato sauce, candy, and even cosmetics.

The bugs are harvested in Mexico, and then they're crushed into a fine powder that is then sold to food processing companies as a pigment known as "carmine." The substance appears on labels simply as "color added" or "artificial colors" (although occasionally it's noted as Red 40 or E120).

I'm actually thinking of picking up the phone right now to thank my mom for refusing to let us eat anything  that contained either "artificial colors" or "color added," although I don't think she had any idea about the bugs.

You may have read the recent post by Change.org's Sustainable Food Editor Sarah Parsons about a new report outlining the dangers of food dyes, including their risks of causing cancer, hyperactivity, and allergic reactions. When it comes to carmine being added to food, there are reasons to be worried beyond just the ick factor, too. It turns out some people are severely allergic to the beetles — figuring out what's causing an allergy is extremely difficult when the culprit is not even labeled.

Beginning in January, the FDA will now be requiring food companies to switch from the vague "color added" on labels to explicitly stating "carmine" or "cochineal extract." This is great news if you happen to know what either of those mean. But if you don't and you're a vegetarian or have religious or other dietary restrictions where bugs are are a no-no, then you may still be getting duped. The Center for Science in the Public Interest has been pushing for the FDA to go even further. Their executive director Michael Jacobson told McClatchy, "We urge the FDA to at least indicate these ingredients are of insect origins, but the industry opposes that because nobody would buy the product."

Precisely! And then the companies would switch to using beet coloring and the like and people who are allergic could stop worrying about whether or not the yogurt they had for breakfast will mean a trip to the ER. Sign our petition asking the FDA to ban the use of synthetic food dyes in consumer products.

Photo credit: mary_thompson

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet.org where she heads up the environment, water, and food sections. Her work has appeared on the websites of The Nation, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post and in Yes! Magazine.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Epic Fail: EPA Uses Industry-Backed Studies to Assess Herbicide's Safety
NEXT STORY:
Join the Social Media Day of Action to Rid Girl Scout Cookies of Forest-Destroying Palm Oil

COMMENTS (8)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.