Now Bug Free!Hooray! The whole crushed-up-insect-in-your-food scandal of 2012 has ended with Starbucks deciding they do not want to be known for putting bugs in their Frappuccinos. Those bugs will be phased out by June, so avoid the Strawberry Frap until mid-summer.
I'd love to take some credit (ahem) for outing the fact that Starbucks used a dye made from crushed bugs to make their drink pink, but it seems it's a vegan employee who really got people up in arms. After all, an insect is a living creature, and if you're truly vegan, you don't touch the bugs either. Also, apparently these bugs can cause an allergic reaction, and therefore, consumers need to know if they're drinking their crushed remains.
All of this is to say, the bugs are out and we can go back to enjoying our Strawberry Frappuccinos without a care in the world. Only, wait a second, what are they going to use instead?
Lycopene, a dye derived from tomatoes, will be the new source for all things red and pink in your Starbucks drink. So mad props to Starbucks for keeping it natural, even if the bug thing didn't quite work out. I'm just guessing that it will not have a tomato-y taste and instead just borrow the color. Great job, people.
While Starbucks is moving away from the ick, they would like to point out to everyone that plenty of people are doing it. So the next time you consume something with a pink tint, check the label to see if it contains cochineal extract. Because that means you're eating bugs.
Did you stop drinking Strawberry Frappuccinos because of the bug scandal?
Image via Starbucks
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Comments 22
If ever drank/ate red/pink ANYTHING, you probably ate this. Good luck avoiding it.
Let's be clear, I think starbucks is a waste of money, and their drinks are mediocre at best.
But you were being so moronic with the whole thing, it was my passive agressive way of being spiteful.
^LOL.
It is sometimes listed as "carmine" as well.
What a stupid thing to go after a company for. Worry about the food coloring that will actually hurt people.
I just ate some bugs actually, in my Yoplait strawberry yogurt. And you know what? It was pretty damn good. Think I'll go get some more.
Cochineal has been used as a coloring for a centuries. It's a natural product, and I for one, would rather ingest that than some synthesized chemical. People have been eating and unintentionally swallowing bugs for centuries. Besides, I'm pretty sure that if people can be allergic to the proteins in the cohineal extract, they can be allergic to lycopene as well. At the allergist's office I used to work out, we would test people out for a tomato allergy in the food panel just as regularly as we would test for a peanut allergy.
Just like everything else to do with food (preferably natural and organic that is), everything in moderation.