YOU HAVE BEEN EATING INSECTS FOR A LONG TIME UNKNOWINGLY BECAUSE BLECKS MANUFACTURE NOTHING, KAZI NI KULETEWA VITU FROM SODOM, EU & ASIA
If you are horrified by the thought of eating insects, the bad news is that you have probably done so many, many times.
This is because one of the most widely used red food colourings - carmine - is made from crushed up bugs.
Look for the word “carmine” on a food product that contains it, and you might not actually see it written in the list of ingredients.
THE TINY BUGS
Instead it might say “natural red four”, “crimson lake” or just E120, to give carmine its European Union food additive classification number.
A staple of the global food industry, carmine is added to everything from yoghurts and ice creams, to fruit pies, soft drinks, cupcakes and donuts.
It is also used extensively in the cosmetics industry and is found in many lipsticks.
Carmine continues to be widely used because it is such a stable, safe and long-lasting additive whose colour is little affected by heat or light.
Supporters also point out that it is a natural product first discovered and used by the Maya and then the Aztecs more than five centuries ago. They claim that it is far healthier than artificial alternatives such as food colourings made from coal or petroleum by-products.
But even fans of carmine agree that it should be more clearly labelled, and there are a growing number of natural red colouring alternatives that don’t come from insects.
