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Surprising ingredients in some yogurt

Have you ever thought about how the food you eat gets its color? It might be time to start. CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen has this report about what’s in yo...

Have you ever thought about how the food you eat gets its color? It might be time to start. CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen has this report about what’s in your yogurt, and why it will certainly surprise you.

What gives this strawberry yogurt its pink color? If you thought berries, would you ever be wrong.
It’s bugs! Cochineal insects are valued for their vibrant red color when crushed. In just seconds it turns into a brilliant, scarlet red dye.
Last year, Starbucks said it would stop using the bug dye in products like its Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino. Now, the Center for Science in the Public Interest says Dannon should get it out of its yogurt.
“A company like Dannon should be coloring its strawberry yogurt with strawberries and not some insect extract,” says Michael Jacobson, Executive Director of CSPI.
He says Dannon is being deceptive.
“The average yogurt eater sees the redness and thinks strawberries. There’s a picture of a strawberry on the label, not an insect,” he says.
The group says dozens of consumers have complained that the bug coloring, called Carmine, has caused vomiting, hives, and swelling.
In a statement, Dannon said: “Carmine is a safe, FDA approved, vivid red color that many food makers use, including Dannon in some of our products, because it delivers the best color throughout shelf life of the product.”
Dannon also says if consumers want to avoid it, they can just look at the label. It’ll say “Carmine.” It won’t say “bugs.”

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