What carmine and cochineal are
Cochineal extract and carmine are the same red colour at two stages of purity, and both come from an insect. The FAO/WHO expert committee on food additives (JECFA) describes the source in its specification for the additive.
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Cochineal extract is obtained from the dried bodies of female Dactylopius coccus Costa insects (cochineal). The extract is used directly in food and is also processed further to carmines.
The US rule defines the two forms in the same terms. Cochineal extract is the concentrated solution from an alcohol-water extract of the insect, and carmine is the aluminium or calcium-aluminium lake of its colouring principle, chiefly carminic acid.
Primary source 02 / 07
The color additive carmine is the aluminum or calcium-aluminum lake on an aluminum hydroxide substrate of the coloring principles, chiefly carminic acid, obtained by an aqueous extraction of cochineal (Dactylopius coccus costa (Coccus cacti L.)).
Wikipedia’s cochineal entry says the insects are killed by hot water, sunlight, steam or oven heat, and that about 70,000 of them make a pound of dye. The same entry gives Peru and the Canary Islands as producers, with figures from 2005 that it flags as needing an update. Carminic acid, the pigment, is 17 to 24 percent of the dried insects’ weight, per the same entry.
Every name it goes by
Carmine, cochineal, cochineal extract, carminic acid, crimson lake, natural red 4, C.I. 75470 and E120 all point at the same colour. The Vegetarian Society lists the label names and the foods where it turns up.
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Carmine/cochineal red food colourant made from crushed insects. Also known as E120, Cochineal extract, Carminic acid, Carmines or Natural Red 4 on food labels. Found in red soft drinks, biscuits, yogurts, sweets, desserts and sauces.
Wikipedia gives the code names as natural red 4, C.I. 75470 and E120, and lists cochineal, crimson lake and carmine lake as alternative names. Lipstick and other cosmetics use the same names.
What the FDA requires on a US label
The US rule is a labelling rule about allergy, and it does not say the colour is an insect. The FDA finalised it in January 2009 and it took effect on January 5, 2011. From then, food and cosmetic labels have had to name the colour.
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is revising its requirements for cochineal extract and carmine by requiring their declaration by name on the label of all food and cosmetic products that contain these color additives.
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The label of food products intended for human use, including butter, cheese, and ice cream, that contain cochineal extract or carmine shall specifically declare the presence of the color additive by listing its respective common or usual name, “cochineal extract” or “carmine,” in the statement of ingredients
The rule responded to reports of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, and to a petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Commenters asked the FDA to make labels say the colour is insect-derived, and the agency declined. Its reasoning is in the final rule.
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The origins of cochineal extract and carmine are clearly described in the color additive regulations. If consumers desire to avoid products containing these color additives, they will be able to identify such products by reading the ingredient list.
The practical result for a shopper is that a US label reads cochineal extract or carmine and nothing else. Before then, a colour exempt from certification could be listed under a generic term such as Color Added. For this colour, that stopped in 2011.
Vegan red instead
The Vegetarian Society names lycopene, also numbered E160d, as an alternative. It is the bright red pigment of red tomatoes.
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Alternatives include lycopene (or E160d), a bright red carotene and carotenoid pigment found in red tomatoes.
Certification is the quick check. Wikipedia’s cochineal entry says the colour can make a product unacceptable to vegetarian and vegan consumers and that many Muslims regard carmine-containing food as forbidden, while some Jewish authorities allow it because the insect is dried and powdered. The Vegan Society counts insects as animal foods, so a vegan-certified red product will not use it.