to never again eat, drink, or even touch any food that is even remotely pink?

[CoteDAzur]

Am I being unreasonable to sputter out the cherry yoghurt I was eating as I read the following, and swear I will never ever touch any food stuff that is of any shade of pink or red?

(article about the ingredients of Danone's Shape 'Feel Fuller' Strawberry Yoghurt)

Colour:

The pink colour of the yoghurt derives from cochineal (E120) obtained from the female scale insect (Dactylopius coccus) which lives on cacti. The insects produce the intensely red carminic acid molecule to protect themselves against predators. They are harvested by hand and it takes 150,000 insects to yield a kilo of dye. The insects are killed by heating and then ground to powder. The dye is extracted with ammonia or sodium bicarbonate.

Cochineal is back in fashion as a "natural" food dye because of the belief that artificial food dyes cause hyperactivity in children.

This is from this month's Wired magazine, UK edition. My eyes popped out and they might never go back again

Cochineal has been used for years- must be a shock to just find out about it though! Aye, crushed beetles...

THAT is what "natural food colour" MEANS? [faints]

Don't tell me I'm the only consumer who didn't know about this.

So many veggies are eating insects everytime they eat anything red/pink! lol

Knew this.

But had forgotten again.

Thanks for putting it back into my brain!

Green food colourng is made from slugs as well.

I knew but had forgotten too.

It's one of those things children like to tell each other to freak one another out!

It's fine, it's natural!

Um, I don't really mind about cochineal. Is it the killing of the insects that you are bothered about (are you vegetarian?) or just that it comes from beetles at all? Because by the end of the process it's just a dye, a particular chemical, just easier to get it from beetles than trying to create it in a lab. (And they can say it's 'natural')

Is no-one falling for my slugs "factoid"?

I must have led a sheltered life. Where/when I grew up, children told ghost stories to freak each other out.

What is wrong with getting natural food dye from PLANTS? Surely, there is no shortage of pink/red or green plants. Why use insects or slugs?

WHY?!?!

Thatsnotmymonster - what is it with everyone thinking it's so fucking brilliant to 'get one over' on a vegetarian? It's not like we are hurting anyone else with our beliefs, why has it become so socially acceptable?

FWIW - any self respecting vegetarian knows this! It's not the only source of red colouring either, so don't be sniggering to yourself next time you see a vegetarian eating something red - they have probably checked the source of the colouring.

Slugs was a joke cote

They get it from the beetles as it is a strong concentrated dye which fixes well I suspect.

Have you ever tried making plant dyes? They take a vast amount of plants to make a little dye, and the colours are often washed out. Not strong or vivid.

Things like cochineal are the ones used as they are the most efficient to produce and the most effective to use.

No different than using animal derivitives in food production surely? Thinking about gelatin and rennet etc

But yes beetles YURGH

I realize one molecule is the same as the next, regardless of where they are procured from, but still, I'm not eating that insect dust again.

Keep examples coming. All this is good for my diet

MMMmm, insects! Yummy.

Why do we need food colours at all?

I use raspberries to make icing/cakes pink, I squish them through a sieve, presto, pink food colouring! Blue berries make an interesting lilac/bluey-purple, turmeric or safron for yellow, and of course chocolate for cream-brown colours. If you really need green spinach works quite well.

I have a variety of bottles of food colouring at the back of my cupboard, they've been there for years as I can't bring myself to use them since I turned into an earthmother realised what's in them. I might just throw them away I think.....

(lots of yoghurts etc are coloured with beetroot extract too, not all pink/red comes from beetles)

I choose pink food colored woth betroot rather than cocheneals, just because eating crushed bug do not appeal much to me.

I do not eat gelatine either but admit to not always checking wether the cheese I buy has got rennet in or not.

greemonkies can you imagine how expensive food would be if it was all coloured with raspberries, blueberries and saffron?

Gelatine doesn't bother me, and as for rennet, I'm quite the tripe soup fan.

What my mind recoils from is the thought of thousands of insects crushed and mixed into my yoghurt [vomit]

What if they were whole?

I use strawberries or raspberries too... tastes nicer too but the downside is, you have to eat your cakes quite soon...shame

I know, ImSoNotTelling, but my real question is; why do we need to put colours on foods at all? Why not just put cherries into yoghurt and let it be a pale pinky colour from the cherry juice? And so on.

I was talking about the food "colours" that you can use at home for cake making etc, not suggesting that all foods should made with these natural colours. But, cheap is not an excuse to use/eat crap.

well i am veggie but didnt know this but i assume that if its got the Green V on the packaging its ok to eat? thats what i always go by.. oh and cant believe the attitude of some people who think its great fun for a veggie to eat something containing animals

Psychology?

Food which has been coloured sells better. The manufacturers know that.

Bright orange smoked fish sells better than pale yellow.

Eggs with bright yellow yolks.

Sweets expecially need to look the part.

Meat has to be bright red (why? WHY?)

And so on.

"But, cheap is not an excuse to use/eat crap."

I don't get this bit could you expand? Cochineal isn't crap AFAIK, it just creeps some people out

onyjoinedforoffers yes if it's got the V on it you are safe

I've known this since my mum told me when I was a child.

Never bothered me in the slightest.