MOsanthrope

Posted by Chris on January 29, 2006 at 10:29 am.

One of the tactics I employ to torment my three and five-year-olds is the constant suggestion that they’d like to consume bugs. It’s great fun. “What would you like to drink?” I ask, “spider juice?” “I hate spider juice,” they reply. Then comes the bit I picked up in the dad handbook: “How do you know? Have you ever tried spider juice?” The conversation typically ends with the cry, “I DON’T LIKE BUGS!” and a dirty look from my wife.

Ironically, our kids are unwitting bug connoisseurs:

The Food and Drug Administration proposed Friday requiring food and cosmetic labels to list cochineal extract or carmine if a product’s ingredients include either of the two red colorings that have been extracted from the ground bodies of an insect known since the time of the Aztecs.

Release of the proposed rule came after the FDA received 35 reports of hypersensitivity to the colorings, the agency said…. Carmine puts the red in ice cream, strawberry milk, fake crab and lobster, fruit cocktail cherries, port wine cheese, lumpfish eggs and liqueurs like Campari, according to the FDA. Carmine is also used in lipstick, makeup base, eye shadow, eyeliners, nail polishes and baby products, the agency said. Meanwhile, cochineal extract shows up in fruit drinks, candy, yogurt and some processed foods.

The proposed rule requires that food and cosmetic labels list the dyes; however, labels need not alert consumers that the dyes are derived from ground up Dactylopius coccus beetles. If you’re fond of ground bug carcasses, be on the lookout for the words “carmine” or “cochineal” on food labels.

Filed under: Food & Drink, Health