Using Bugs as Food Dyes

I came across one of the most disgusting YouTube videos that I had to research and share with you all.  This is yet again another reason to stay away from processed food and to read the labels of everything you buy in the grocery store.

 Here is an excerpt taken from Wikipedia on Cochineal:

Cochineal is one of the few water-soluble colorants that resist degradation with time. It is one of the most light- and heat-stable and oxidation-resistant of all the natural colorants and is even more stable than many synthetic food colours^.  The water-soluble form is used in alcoholic drinks with calcium carmine; the insoluble form is used in a wide variety of products. Together with ammonium carmine they can be found in meat, sausages, processed poultry products (meat products cannot be colored in the United States unless they are labeled as such), surimi, marinades, alcoholic drinks, bakery products and toppings, cookies, desserts, icings, pie fillings, jams, preserves, gelatin desserts, juice beverages, varieties of cheddar cheese and other dairy products, sauces, and sweets. The average human consumes one to two drops of carminic acid each year with food.  A new U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulation will require all foods and cosmetics containing cochineal to declare it on their ingredient labels as of January 5, 2011.  Carmine is considered safe enough for use in eye cosmetics. A significant proportion of the insoluble carmine pigment produced is used in the cosmetics industry for hair- and skin-care products, lipsticks, face powders, rouges, and blushes. A bright red dye and the stain carmine used in microbiology is often made from the carmine extract, too. The pharmaceutical industry uses cochineal to color pills and ointments.

Yes I know people eat bugs all the time in many places within our world, but to put them in without consumers knowing is what made me mad and disgusted.  At least now I know what to look for on the ingredients list to stay away from.  Another reason to be glad I went vegan where I eat very little processed food so this has little effect on what I put in my body.