Did you know that many processed foods that are pink, red or purple, such as yogurts, ice cream and fruit drinks, contain coloring made from crushed female cochineal beetles? Read more here.
Unfortunately, because this coloring is “naturally occuring”, the FDA does not currently require it to be properly labelled on your food products. Some companies just list it as “artificial color” or “coloring added.” Other companies use the words “carmine” or “cochineal” on their labels.
More unfortunately, this artificial coloring has been proven to cause allergic reactions in different individuals, ranging from sneezing and asthma, to anaphylactic shock.
So be sure to read your labels if you are wary of eating bugs. Here are some popular products that contain beetlejuice…
Good & Plenty candy
Dannon Fruit on the Bottom Boysenberry yogurt
Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit
Yoplait Thick and Creamy Low-Fat Strawberry yogurt
Tropicana Orange Strawberry Banana Juice
SoBe Courage Cherry Citrus Drink
Nutritionists say you should have one bowel movement for every meal you ate the previous day. So if you had three meals on Monday, you should be producing three bowel movements on Tuesday. Yet this doesn’t happen for most people. Yesterday, they ate breakfast, lunch and dinner but nothing’s coming out today. Read more » |
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I think I’d heard of this before, but never looked into it. I just read the article and was surprised to see the description of a “cactus sucking insect called Dactylopius coccus costa.”
It’s not a pleasant thought drinking the crushed shells of these dried out insects (as in strawberry milk). Or eating them in fake lobster.
Here’s a funny thought. I bet a lot of vegetarians have accidentally consumed carmine and broken their strict diet without even realizing it. Without knowledge of what cochineal extract is or where it comes from or what foods it’s present in… you would never know.
I am absoulutely disgusted over the thought of crushed beetles being in food. I would not go outside and pick up a beetle and eat it, so I certainly do not want them in my food. I think they should be listed in the ingredients so we may decide for ourselves.
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