Is red food colour vegetarian?

Fond of soft, creamy and lavish Red Velvet cakes or red coloured cupcakes? But have you ever thought, what exactly is the edible red food colour made of? Well, the answer to this will leave you shocked!

As per science, colours have a long lasting cognitive effect on the mind that evokes happy and positive emotions. In fact, as per a study by the American Academy of Neurology, warm colours like red, orange and yellow can arouse several emotions of love, happiness and passion. Apart from that, the presence of antioxidants and flavonoids in colourful foods helps in making the memory sharp and prevents cognitive decline. But do you know what exactly are the edible food colors made of and are these even vegetarian?

There are two types of food colouring: Natural and artificial. While natural food colouring is extracted from fruits, veggies and flowers; On the other hand artificial edible food colours are prepared with a mix of chemicals that are approved by FDA( Food and Drug Administration). However, as per certain studies ailments like ADHD, Depression and several types of cancers are linked to the excessive intake of foods rich in artificial edible colours.

Red food colouring also known as Carmine is one of the darkest secrets that are hidden by food companies and restaurants. Yes, you will be shocked to know that the eye-grabbing red colour actually comes from the extracts of a red coloured bug known as Cochineal, which is a native to Latin America. Every year millions of bugs are harvested and processed to create this food colour. In fact, around 70,000 bugs are required to make around 1 pound of red colouring.

As per a science journal Live Science, it was mentioned that in 2009 Cochineal was considered as a natural food colour. However, as per the FDA guidelines, it was a mandate to mention the usage of Carmine and Cochineal extract as the usage of this bug extract may often trigger severe food allergies. So, if you have been consuming food coloured in red assuming they were plant extracts, then we feel sad to break it to you that most commercially available red food colour is basically Carmine and it is made with bug extracts, which makes it non-vegetarian.