Insects Used to Make Food Coloring

[Guest guest]

Are insects used to make food coloring?

March 6, 2006

 

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2006/03/06/are_inse

cts_used_to_make_food_coloring/

Previously posted to SoFlaVegans

 

Q: A few weeks ago at a party the subject came up about food

coloring. I told the guests about the red bugs that are raised to

make #40 red. Isn't it used in a lot of things, like bacon bits for

one?

JS, Stoneham

 

A: The red coloring from insects that you're talking about is called

cochineal and comes from an insect of the same name that is native to

Central and South America. The females are wingless and spend most of

their time sitting on certain species of cactus, sucking up cactus

juice. The males are smaller and have wings.

 

Of main interest for red dyes are the females, which can be knocked

off the cactus and dropped into boiling water or otherwise heated or

crushed to kill them. From their bodies, a red substance called

carminic (or kermesic) acid is extracted.

 

The little things are only about 5mm long, and it takes about a

million of their corpses to get a kilogram of carminic acid.

 

There are two forms of cochineal dye. Crude cochineal extract is made

from the dried and pulverized bodies of the insects.

 

Carmine is a more purified form. To make carmine, you have to boil

the dead insects in ammonia or sodium carbonate, filter, and add

alum. The alum reacts with the carminic acid solution to form a

bright red compound. Lime can also be added to get a purpler shade.

 

Carmine is a great dye for almost anything, from clothing to

beverages (it's the red of Campari) to food (yes, it's used a lot for

meats, including bacon bits) to lipstick and just about anything

else. It is amazingly stable over time and one of the few colorings

considered safe for eye makeup.

 

Food containing it has to be labeled as such, and sometimes carmine

is called E120. Coming from insects it is not considered kosher,

halal, or vegetarian, and some people can have allergic reactions to

it.

 

Red dye #40 is a different substance. It is derived chemically from

coal tar and is not an animal or insect product.

 

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