Meet the insect you probably didn’t know you’re eating.

Here are 7 foods that contain the cochineal parasite for it’s color:

-Starbuck’s Raspberry Swirl Cake, Birthday Cake Pop, Mini Donut, and Red Velvet Whoopie Pie.

-Kellogg’s Fruit Loops cereal and Fruit Snacks.

-Tropicana.

-Betty Crocker’s red velvet cake mix.

-Nesquik Chocolate Cookie Sandwich (Strawberry) and Nestle Wonka Nerds.

-Skittles.

-Dannon yogurt strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry flavors.

Sidenote : It takes 40,000 of these bugs to create 1lb of carmine dye. 😳


Carmine dye is derived from cochineal insects (Dactylopius coccus). These small insects are native to tropical and subtropical regions, primarily found on cacti in Mexico, Peru, and the Canary Islands. The dye is extracted from the dried bodies of the female insects, which contain carminic acid. This acid is then processed to produce the vibrant red pigment known as carmine.