This morning I received an email forward with a lovely little critter inside:

Subject: Oh…my…gosh

This is revolting, and if I could find a way to bring up the one I drank I would…Oh boy, there is not a thing safe left to eat or drink anymore. GROUND BUGS FOR FOOD COLORING? YUCK!!! http://xfinity.comcast.net/blogs/news/2012/03/27/report-starbucks-frappuccinos-dyed-with-crushed-up-bugs/

Read the article to the bottom, guys. Besides being absolutely stomach churning (in our opinion) it is not okay for the health. 

 

According to the article on the Xfinity News Blog, Starbucks has changed the recipe for the Strawberry Frappuccino, and it now includes the tasty little morsel above, called the cochineal bug. The cochineal extract ” is a red dye made of ground up bodies of cochineal insects.” The article goes on to explain that “this change was apparently made in an effort to reduce Starbucks’ use of artificial ingredients.”

The story is true. This Dish Is Veg was tipped off by a barista that the Strawberry Frappuccinos were no longer vegan.

Now, if that grosses you out, get ready for this: we’ve been eating these crushed up cochineal bug shells for decades! Starbucks isn’t the first company to use cochineal extract to dye food red; it has been being used in food for thousands of years. Ever had a Dannon’s Activia yogurt, a Good N’ Plenty, a Pixi Stick, or a refreshing glass of Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit juice? Didn’t those bugs taste yummy? These are just a tiny sample of the thousands of products on America’s grocery shelves that contain carmine or cochineal extract.

Cochineal extract has no detectable flavor and it is safe for human consumption, except for a small number of people who are allergic to it. Any food that has “Artificial color” listed as one of the ingredients and is red to purple in color most likely contains cochineal extract. The FDA did not require it to be listed in the food ingredients (remember cochineal extract has been around since before the United States, let alone the FDA, even existed) until a law was passed in 2009 requiring companies to include it. So, while it certainly isn’t kosher or vegan, cochineal extract is at least as safe to eat as peanuts or strawberries.

Unfortunately, because of the squeamishness of the subject, even though food companies have used cochineal extract for decades (Hershey’s, Nestle, and Old Orchard Juices to name a few), some companies have started switching to Red #40 which is a completely artificial chemical that has, at least anecdotally, been linked to depression, hives, hyperactivity, and abdominal discomfort. (Of course, there hasn’t been substantial research into whether there is a direct link, and there probably won’t ever be because there isn’t any money to be made in finding out that it is harmful.)

So, sometimes the solution might be worse than the problem. For me, I’ll keep my crunchy bug shells. If I didn’t notice them before, they won’t bother me now. Mmm…now I’m craving a Strawberry Frappuccino.

Here’s what the gang at Sourcefed had to say about the news: