FDA Proposes Listing Bug Ingredients in Food

[swedeace]

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/13735922.htm

FDA Proposes Listing Bug Ingredients in Food

By JANE ZHANG
The Wall Street Journal

Food makers may not want to dwell on it, but the ingredient that gives Dannon boysenberry yogurt and Tropicana ruby red grapefruit juice their distinctive colors comes from crushed female cochineal beetles.

Too much information? Some consumers would say there hasn't been nearly enough.

Pressured by consumer advocates, the Food and Drug Administration published a food-labeling proposal online Friday that would require companies to disclose when a food contains beetle-derived colorings including vivid-red "carmine" and bright-orange "cochineal" (pronounced coach-in-EEL). The public has 60 days to comment before a final ruling is made.

Under FDA regulations, food labels must identify certain man-made colorings by name, such as FD&C Red No. 40.

But for carmine, cochineal and other naturally occurring ingredients, companies can use terms such as "color added" or, oddly, "artificial color."

Bugged by the loophole, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington public-health advocacy group, and a small but vocal group of consumers who are allergic to the ingredients have pushed for stiffer rules.

Joining the chorus are vegetarians, who don't want to eat insects, and consumers observing kosher dietary practices.

Products containing carmine "may look like kosher," but they aren't, says Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief operating officer of the kosher division of the Orthodox Union, a leading certifier of kosher products. "There are a lot of people who will not be happy to know that they are eating products that contain dried beetle."

A petition that CSPI submitted to the FDA in 1998 and complaints from allergic consumers spurred the FDA's proposal. The petition suggested that labels disclose carmine or cochineal content with the language "Artificial color: carmine/cochineal extract (insect based)." The food industry objects to the word "insect" and the use of "artificial color" together with "carmine" and "cochineal."

"That lengthy type of description is likely to be unnecessary," says Robert Earl, senior director of nutrition policy at Food Products Association, a food- and beverage-industry group. "It's not part of the requirement for other animal-derived ingredients. Lard is 'lard.' It doesn't say 'pork' after it. 'Milk' doesn't say 'from cow.' "

The FDA's proposal dropped the word "insect" and will require that the coloring ingredients be labeled as vivid-red "carmine" or bright-orange "cochineal," said FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza.

Some food companies -- Dannon, PepsiCo, the maker of Tropicana; and General Mills, the maker of Yoplait yogurt -- have already begun listing "carmine" on labels by name. Others have taken steps to eliminate carmine from products, replacing it in some cases with synthetic colorings.

Even when they are clearly listed on the label, cochineal and carmine remain a mystery to many consumers.

The bugs are raised on farms in Peru, Mexico and the Canary Islands, where they feed on cactuses. The bodies of female beetles are dried, ground and heated, and the colored powder is filtered out.

Vegetarians are also rooting for the label change.

A year ago, while sitting at a movie theater, Lucinda Hoffmaster first saw the word "carmine" on a box of Hershey Co.'s Good & Plenty candies. Not knowing what the word meant, the Montgomery, Ala., resident went home and looked up the word on the Internet. "I was just horrified," recalls Hoffmaster, 57, the mother of two vegetarian daughters.

Hershey declined to comment.

http://www.fda.gov
http://www.cspinet.org/

[James"Thunder"Early]

I knew about this a little while ago and tried to avoid certain foods with coloring

[Chelsea]

Originally Posted by swedeace

naturally occurring ingredients

Line of the day.

[Janice]

Oh my God, that's disgusting. I'm going to start reading labels for that.

[MsOrange]

yea, i heard about this ont he radio this morning... of course, this was AFTER eating a big bowl of trix w/ all kinds of coloring in it

[Sterling Holobyte]

Aren't we technologically advanced enough to make these colors without crushing up bugs to do it? Ewww.

[robyrob]

i firmly believe that there should be ZERO tolerance for not listing food ingredients; where food allergies are concerned it takes a VERY SMALL amount to cause a reaction - I personally dont care if Im eating bugs, as long as it wont kill me

[Brian Damage]

I'd rather not know what I'm eating.

[EmoJoe]

Originally Posted by Janice

Oh my God, that's disgusting. I'm going to start reading labels for that.

me too...ew

[Ireneparalegal]

Originally Posted by swedeace

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/13735922.htm

FDA Proposes Listing Bug Ingredients in Food

By JANE ZHANG
The Wall Street Journal

Food makers may not want to dwell on it, but the ingredient that gives Dannon boysenberry yogurt and Tropicana ruby red grapefruit juice their distinctive colors comes from crushed female cochineal beetles.

Too much information? Some consumers would say there hasn't been nearly enough.

Pressured by consumer advocates, the Food and Drug Administration published a food-labeling proposal online Friday that would require companies to disclose when a food contains beetle-derived colorings including vivid-red "carmine" and bright-orange "cochineal" (pronounced coach-in-EEL). The public has 60 days to comment before a final ruling is made.

Under FDA regulations, food labels must identify certain man-made colorings by name, such as FD&C Red No. 40.

But for carmine, cochineal and other naturally occurring ingredients, companies can use terms such as "color added" or, oddly, "artificial color."

Bugged by the loophole, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington public-health advocacy group, and a small but vocal group of consumers who are allergic to the ingredients have pushed for stiffer rules.

Joining the chorus are vegetarians, who don't want to eat insects, and consumers observing kosher dietary practices.

Products containing carmine "may look like kosher," but they aren't, says Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief operating officer of the kosher division of the Orthodox Union, a leading certifier of kosher products. "There are a lot of people who will not be happy to know that they are eating products that contain dried beetle."

A petition that CSPI submitted to the FDA in 1998 and complaints from allergic consumers spurred the FDA's proposal. The petition suggested that labels disclose carmine or cochineal content with the language "Artificial color: carmine/cochineal extract (insect based)." The food industry objects to the word "insect" and the use of "artificial color" together with "carmine" and "cochineal."

"That lengthy type of description is likely to be unnecessary," says Robert Earl, senior director of nutrition policy at Food Products Association, a food- and beverage-industry group. "It's not part of the requirement for other animal-derived ingredients. Lard is 'lard.' It doesn't say 'pork' after it. 'Milk' doesn't say 'from cow.' "

The FDA's proposal dropped the word "insect" and will require that the coloring ingredients be labeled as vivid-red "carmine" or bright-orange "cochineal," said FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza.

Some food companies -- Dannon, PepsiCo, the maker of Tropicana; and General Mills, the maker of Yoplait yogurt -- have already begun listing "carmine" on labels by name. Others have taken steps to eliminate carmine from products, replacing it in some cases with synthetic colorings.

Even when they are clearly listed on the label, cochineal and carmine remain a mystery to many consumers.

The bugs are raised on farms in Peru, Mexico and the Canary Islands, where they feed on cactuses. The bodies of female beetles are dried, ground and heated, and the colored powder is filtered out.

Vegetarians are also rooting for the label change.

A year ago, while sitting at a movie theater, Lucinda Hoffmaster first saw the word "carmine" on a box of Hershey Co.'s Good & Plenty candies. Not knowing what the word meant, the Montgomery, Ala., resident went home and looked up the word on the Internet. "I was just horrified," recalls Hoffmaster, 57, the mother of two vegetarian daughters.

Hershey declined to comment.

http://www.fda.gov
http://www.cspinet.org/

As long as there is no lead in them, that's fine with me!

[Stormtracker TF]

This isnt news to me...About the bugs I mean. I've known this for years.

[Bootsy Whoosh]

I ate a fingerful of termites when I was in the jungle. They weren't bad...they tasted like nutty chicken.

[Bootsy Whoosh]

Did you all know the FDA has set standards for how much insect parts are allowed in our food?

They're called "Food Defect Action Levels".

You simply must go here: Food Defect Action Levels and check out the commodities listing. I think it's kind of funny actually. Among the things the FDA regulates the limit of but allows some of are:
* Mold
* Insects
* Rodent filth (love this terminology)
* Insect filth
* Mammalian excreta
* Rot

EAT UP!!!!

[Bootsy Whoosh]

More "food for thought":

"If Americans could tolerate more insects (bugs) in what they eat, farmers could significantly reduce the amount of pesticides applied each year. It is better to eat more insects and less pesticide residue. If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would relax the limit for insects and their parts (double the allowance) in food crops, U.S. farmers could significantly apply less pesticide each year. Fifty years ago, it was common for an apple to have worms inside, bean pods with beetle bites and cabbage with worm eaten leaves. Most Americans don't realize that they are probably already eating a pound or two of insects each year. One cannot see them, since they have been ground up into tiny pieces in such items as strawberry jams, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, applesauce, frozen chopped broccoli, etc. Actually, these insect parts make some food products more nutritious. An issue of the Food Insects Newsletter reports that 80 percent of the world's population eats insects intentionally and 100 percent eat them unintentionally."

From Entemology Fact Sheet. Click the link to see nutrition information for insects and some tasty recipies.

[*Pleasant Tomorrow*]

Originally Posted by Sterling Holobyte

Aren't we technologically advanced enough to make these colors without crushing up bugs to do it? Ewww.

Really

But eh, if it's not hurting me what the hell, I'll eat it.