Bong wrote in :

> Did anyone catch the news on Saturday? A number of products were
> profiled, including a very popular brand of juice in a carton and also
> a rather long list of sugar treats. This brief news item on TV
> indicated that FDA was considering more stringent labelling in order
> to ensure the identification of this extract made from crushed beetles
> to enrich the colouring in some juices, candies, etc. The
> commentator specifically mentioned, "Vegetarians will be rather
> interested in knowing this..." The purple colour for a candy-covered
> treat was also mentioned. What I would like to know is the
> ingredient's name--what are the trade names or generic names--for this
> beetle extract, ...so that I can avoid it. Anyone see the news
> release or know of this color-enhancer name?

Hi Bong.

It's called "cochineal" (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal).
It's also known as "carminic acid". In the EU its E-number is E120.

Mark