CSPI, the self-styled “organised voice of the American public on nutrition, food safety, health and other issues”, wants Dannon to "put berries over bugs".
Dannon uses carmine—a dye extracted from the dried, pulverised bodies of cochineal insects—to give several varieties of fruit-flavoured yoghurt their pink colour. The non-profit food watchdog group says that Dannon's practice cheats consumers, who might expect that the named fruits—and not the unnamed creepy crawlies—are providing the colour. And, the bug-based dye puts some consumers at risk of serious allergic reactions, says CSPI.
Strawberry, cherry, boysenberry and raspberry varieties of Dannon's "Fruit on the Bottom" line all contain the insect-based dye, as does the strawberry flavour of Dannon's Oikos brand of Greek yoghurt, according to the organisation, as do two flavours of Dannon's Light and Fit Greed and six of its Activia yogurts.
Dannon uses other natural colourings, such as purple carrot juice, in its Danimals line of yoghurts marketed to children. CSPI's Chemical Cuisine guide to food additives says "certain people should avoid" carmine since a small percentage of consumers can have reactions ranging from hives to anaphylactic shock after eating it.
"I have nothing against people who eat insects, but when I buy strawberry yoghurt I'm expecting yoghurt and strawberries, and not red dye made from bugs," said CSPI executive director Michael F. Jacobson. "Given the fact that it causes allergic reactions in some people, and that it's easy to use safer, plant-based colours, why would Dannon use it at all? Why risk offending vegetarians and grossing out your other customers?"
CSPI is sponsoring an online petition on TakePart.com urging Franck Riboud, CEO of Dannon's parent company Groupe Danone, to replace the insect-based dye with more of the fruit advertised on the label.
The cochineal insect is a tiny, parasitic scale insect native to South America and Mexico. It lives on and feeds off a certain type of cacti. The red coluor comes from carminic acid, which the insects have in abundance. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, it takes on the order of 40,000 of the little bugs to produce one pound of cochineal extract. Besides yoghurts, carmine can be found in candies, ice creams, and beverages, as well as in drugs and cosmetics.
In response to a CSPI petition, the Food and Drug Administration at least requires carmine to be listed on food labels when it is used. Previously, companies could obscure the presence of the insect extract by labelling it "artificial colour." CSPI had urged the FDA to go further and describe carmine as "insect-derived," making it easier for vegetarians, Jews who keep Kosher, or anyone otherwise averse to eating such ingredients to avoid it.
