Serious Eats: Talk
Beetle juice?
I watched a Canadian news show last night. It stated that a certain beetle is being killed, dried and ground and then added to food - it adds a red colour to food and this is done apparently, so the food labels can claim, "natural colour" is used, as opposed to "artificial colour." In Canada, that is all the label needs to say, however, in the USA, the rules are more stringent and this additive"beetle juice" is given the name, "cochineal" or, "carmine." The report stated that rarely, someone has an allergy and one little boy was critically ill until it was discovered that this additive was in his yogurt. I have to say I was gobsmacked to find out that dried beetles are being used as an a food additive. Is it just me, or were any of you aware of this?
