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The cochineal beetle, or dactylopius coccus, is a tiny insect which lives on cactus plants, particularly the prickly pear cactus, in Central and South America. The female beetles eat the red cactus berries and concentrate the red colour in their bodies.
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www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/cochineal/beetles.h...
www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/cochineal/beetles.html
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Cochineal (Dactylopius coccus) ... Cochineal is a traditional red dye of pre-Hispanic Mexico. This precious dyestuff was obtained not from a plant, but from an insect that lives its life sucking on a plant.
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www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotan...
www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/economicbotany/Cochineal/index.html
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To prepare the dye, female cochineal beetles are brushed from the cactus pads, dried, and the bright red pigments were extracted from their dried bodies. One pound of dye is produced from about 70,000 beetle bodies.
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www.delange.org/Cochineal/Cochineal.htm
www.delange.org/Cochineal/Cochineal.htm
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It turns out that products like Dannon Boysenberry Yogurt and Tropicana Ruby Red Grapefruit juice get their healthy hues in part from crushed female cochineal beetles. Most consumers were unaware of this, as marketers have skirted the issue by putting "color added" or "artificial color" in their ingredient lists.
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www.brandfreak.com/2009/01/waiter-theres-a-crushed-coch...
www.brandfreak.com/2009/01/waiter-theres-a-crushed-cochineal-beetle-in-my-food-coloring.html
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One of the most interesting examples of an animal by-product showing up in an unassuming food is cochineal extract in fruit juice. Cochineal extract, or carmine, is a red dye that is used in everything from candy to juice to lipstick and is made from the female cochineal beetles that feed on red cactus berries.
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www.acsh.org/factsfears/newsID.164/news_detail.asp
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; Interesting. Here’s an organic additive that creates deep and rich reds for your food or cosmetics. Ground up female cochineal beetles. I’ll be looking for these 5mm critters the next time I go shopping and begin reading packaging ingredients.
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dontai.com/wp/2009/03/09/female-cochineal-beetle-and-yo...
dontai.com/wp/2009/03/09/female-cochineal-beetle-and-your-food/
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CSPI, Michael Jacobson, Carmine, Artificial Coloring, Coloring, colors, allergic, allergic reactions, food coloring, allergies ... The colorings come in two forms, cochineal extract or carmine. Both are derived from female cochineal beetles, which are raised in Peru, the Canary Islands, and elsewhere.
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www.cspinet.org/new/carmine_8_24_98.htm
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Overview of the pigment Carmine (Cochineal and Kermes) ... Brief description of Carmine (Cochineal and Kermes): ... Cochineal insects on a prickly pear cactus stem (Lanzarote Island, Spain); details of clusters of cochineal beetles...
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www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/overview/carmine.htm...
www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/overview/carmine.html
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Some of our readers noticed the flap over cochineal and carmine that made the news on January 28, 2006. They pointed out that we had focused on this food coloring back in 2002 when we wrote, "Tropicana Is Bugging Your Juice."
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www.vegparadise.com/news13.html
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