Zagorski, M. Cochineal The female Dactylopius coccus, or the cochineal insect, contains the important dye ingredient carminic acid. Red Ochre Pigment. Kermes on a Tree. Cochineal Pigment. Next Section. Scale insects are strange, tiny animals, often with no visible legs or antennae. They kind of look like plant pimples.
Cochineal scales live on prickly pear, and cover their wee bodies in a white, fluffy wax. Why are these little insects so red under all that fluff? Carminic acid their red dye repels ants. Their pigment evolved as a chemical weapon against predation. News reports like to dwell upon phrases like "smashed up wings and finely ground legs," but the stuff we call cochineal is a chemical extract from squished female cochineal scales.
The insects are crushed and the pigment is extracted. And since I'm being pedantic, there is a common misconception that cochineal is made from beetles. That's a huge error, and I don't just say that because I'm an anal-retentive entomologist who insists that my obscure disciplinary taxonomic rules be recognized by all. Ok, maybe a little of that.
But not only that. Beetles and scale insects last shared a common ancestor over million years ago. Today, cochineals are harvested mainly in Peru and the Canary Islands on plantations of prickly pear cacti, the bugs' preferred host. There, the insects are sun-dried, crushed, and dunked in an acidic alcohol solution to produce carminic acid, the pigment that eventually becomes carmine or cochineal extract, depending on processing.
About 70, insects are needed to produce a pound of dye. Until , cochineal was one of many dyes that fell under the umbrella term "natural color" on ingredients lists. It is the wingless females that are harvested, rather than the flying males. The red colour comes from carminic acid, which makes up almost a quarter of the bugs' weight, and deters predation by other insects. Ms Butler Greenfield says: "Generally the bugs are dried first Given what the dye is made from, you might think it would be a declining industry.
However, demand is rising and because the supply is finite - it is difficult for Peruvian farmers to substantially boost supplies - the price has soared in recent years. UK-based Premier Foods, which owns brands including Mr Kipling cakes and Bachelor soups, continues to use carmine, but does consider switching to alternative colourings. Animal rights group Peta would ideally like the use of carmine to be phased out all together. One company that in recent years has moved away from carmine is US coffee shop giant Starbucks.
Back in customers complained after it was revealed that Starbucks used carmine in some of its iced coffees, smoothies and cakes. Starbucks responded by saying it would switch from carmine to lycopene, a natural, tomato-based extract.
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