Beetles as artificial coloring must be disclosed – FDA

Since January 5, the US Food and Drug administration (FDA) has required food manufacturers to disclose whether red cochineal beetles, often disguised as artificial coloring in food, are among their products’ ingredients.

The cochineal beetles, which are farmed, dried and crushed to produce a red dye called carmine, provides pink, red and purple coloring to foods such as ice cream, yogurt, candy, and fruit drinks.

Because of lax labeling laws, the extent of carmine in foods and drinks is not known, and until this year, it had been disguised in the ingredient list as “artificial color,” “color added” or the all-encompassing “natural and artificial coloring.”

“At issue is ambiguity in product labeling,” writes Christopher Wanjek, Bad Medicine columnist at LiveScience.com. “Natural and artificial coloring means precious little. Why not just say that the food product contains “stuff” and call it a day?”

The writer argues that there are an unaccounted number of consumers who are highly allergic to cochineal extract and its primary chemical ingredient, i.e. carminic acid, and that the coloring has been tied to dozens of cases of anaphylactic shock and near-death incidences.

Although it took 13 years since a petition was first launched by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) in 1998 to require clearer labeling for cochineal-infused foods, such a decision by the FDA is lauded, and is seen to be in the best interest of the consumers.

“Vegetarians, kosher-conscious Jews and halal-conscious Muslims also stood to benefit from knowing about the deliberate presence of an insect in their food,” Christopher adds.

As such, effective January 5th, the US FDA requires manufacturers selling foods that contain cochineal extract or carmine, to specifically declare the presence of the color additive by its respective common or usual name, i.e. ‘cochineal extract’ or ‘carmine,’ in the ingredient statement of the food label.

Carmine also is known commercially as Red 4, and is not to be confused with the far more common Red 40 (nicknamed “beetle juice”), or Allura Red AC as it is more commonly known in the food industry.

Prevalent in extremely red foods and drinks such as Hawaiian Punch, Red 40 or Allura Red AC is not derived from an animal, but from organic petroleum.

“This brings us to the bigger question,” he asks. “Which is worse, natural or artificial food dyes? You may want to simply avoid food and drinks that glow in the dark.”

LiveScience columnist Christopher Wanjek can be contacted at wanjek@yahoo.com

Cover photo by Pavel Klaus, Czech Republic.