Ew - did you hear about this?

You're Eating … What?
By Sally Wadyka for MSN Health & Fitness

Want some dead bugs with your dinner? Well, that's just one of the freaky ingredients involved in making some popular processed foods. And while all seven of these sound incredibly icky—though presumably used to help make your food tastier or look better—some additives are decidedly more disturbing than others. Here's what you're eating—which may inspire you to start contemplating those ingredient labels a lot more closely.

Carmine

According to the FDA, this red food coloring (also known as cochineal extract) is made from dried, ground bugs . The Dactylopius coccus costa insect is native to Peru and the Canary Islands, where it feeds on red berries. The berries accumulate in the females' stomachs and in their unhatched larvae—which is what gives the extract its red coloring. Carmine is one of the most widely used coloring agents, and food manufacturers routinely use it to turn foods shades of pink, red or purple. Chances are it's what makes the color of your strawberry yogurt or that cranberry drink look so appealing.

But the problem is that at the moment, you have no way of knowing if you're ingesting these little red bugs. Instead, the label will simply read, "artificial color" or "color added." But the Vegetarian Legal Action Network petitioned the FDA to disclose the presence of carmine, and in 2010, that requirement will go into effect. "But it will still be listed only as carmine or cochineal extract, with no mention of the ingredient's source," says Michael Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "The onus will be on the consumer to know what carmine is, and that's asking a lot."


URL: http://health.msn.com/mens-health/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=100232497>1=31037

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

I read about that a long time ago...I've heard of it a few times.
Those aren't the only bugs in your food (or other creatures), there is a certain amount of insects/vermin permitted in all food due to processing plants size.
I just try not to think about it.....

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

i HAVE heard this and try not to think about it i file it away with the fact that dust mites and microscopic bugs are everywhere!

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

they have been doing this for years.....we havent died from it yet....

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

Some cultures eat bugs willingly as a source of protein- it won't kill ya!
I think we are too weak stomached here in America.

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

Posted by Lisa

they have been doing this for years.....we havent died from it yet....

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

I'm a vegetarian for a reason...eating animals is NOT what I want to do. Bugs are on the list, too.

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

gah

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

I think it's hysterical this was moved to food and recipes

Re: Ew - did you hear about this?

Oh groooooosssssssss extra protein anyone