Saturday 1 October 2011

Lees, Lees, no more crushed beetles if you please

Do you want this little guy in your candy?

Watch out for crushed up cochineal beetles in your yoghurt, drinks and sweets. Lees of Scotland, have carmine in their Raspberry coconut ice - and they're not the only company with this unneccessary nasty in their candy.

This red/pinky colorant is a big hit unless you're a wee beetle minding your own business until someone grabs you and boils you alive and then smashes your head in.

Why don't these companies tell us the truth and list crushed beetles in their ingredients?

Probably because they know we wouldn't buy them.

Some transparency please by manufacturers. Is it too much to ask?

And that's how veggiegirl2011 sees it.

Tip - Carmine can also be labelled as cochineal, Crimson Lake and natural red. It's often in sweets and candies that are labelled as having natural colorants although there's nothing natural about what happens to those beetles.

Tip - Cochineal can also be present in cosmetics like blusher.

For more on this food nasty, visit here, here, here and here.

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