Insects Deliberately Put Into Our Food - Yum or Yuck?Apr 19 '09 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line Be careful with red food items unless you like having bugs a part of your diet. While reading through my herbal study material I learned something new - I learned that "carmine" is a food additive. (It is also added to other things such as cosmetics to produce a red color.) So what is carmine? Well, I was disgusted when I found out via an internet search. Carmine is a bright red color obtained from dried, ground up insects. Food products that may contain carmine include ice cream, yogurt, candy, fruit cocktail cherries, and juice. The FDA has approved it for use in the United States. And they have even passed a regulation that says it has to be identified on product labels - but that doesn't take effect until 2011. Our wonderful FDA did not direct that carmine had to be defined as "insect based" or that labeling had to include information that it can cause severe allergic reactions in some people, however. Imagine that. Of course the food industry had a problem with that potential directive - who would buy food items with ingredients labeled "insect based"? I certainly wouldn't. Yuck. Carmine is also called "Crimson Lake", "Cochineal", "Natural Red 4", and "CI 75470". Since carmine is derived from insects, they are allowed to call it "natural". Another insect-based food additive is "confectioner's glaze". The red coloring is a benefit for food manufacturers because it makes the food look good. Apparently the only way to avoid it is to not buy foods that are red or pink. I went through my pantry looking for evidence of insect-based foods. Since the labelling doesn't go into effect until 2011, I did not find much. I already tend to avoid red foods because Red 40 is so bad so there is not a lot in there that is red. I did find a container of Betty Crocker Decorating Decors Rainbox Mix sprinkles that contain confectioner's glaze. They are going into the garbage. I am appalled that food manufacturers are not required to accurately label the ingredients in their products. I am appalled that they are allowed to use names that do not tell the real story. If I wanted to eat insects, I would do so deliberately. I do not like them hiding gross things in food, knowing full well that if they were honest few people would buy them. Lilke so many other things, it all boils down to making a profit. Sad.  |
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