In the U.S. in the 1900s, the article notes, cochineal “began to appear in commercial products of the United States primarily as a food dye, as in pork sausage, pies, dried fish and shrimp ...

Color from the cochineal was found in pigment in tomb paintings in Monte Alban, in what is now Mexico, dating from sometime around 600 to 750 C.E.

The Spanish controlled this new source of a superior, bright, long lasting red color until the 18th century, when its true source, the cochineal, was “discovered” and people across the world ...

The red remains of a squished cochineal insect, in Old Town’s Plaza. “Well, yes, it was. It was roughly ten times more intense than any red dye known to humankind. Ten times as red!

The cochineal is a 0.2-inch-long beetle, native to the Armenian Highlands, whose exterior is a striking red and blends in with similarly colored flowers and fruits in its habitat.

Natural color additives are exempt but still evaluated by the agency. One of the most popular alternatives for vibrant red colorants is cochineal extract or its lake, carmine.

Much red food coloring, known as carmine or cochineal, is made from a white insect that exudes a bright red color when it is crushed. This is not news, though: It's been used for hundreds of years.

Cochineal bugs — oval-shaped scale insects around 0.2 inches long — are harvested and turned into the natural dyes cochineal extract, carmine, and the pure pigment carminic acid.

It is a well-known struggle that trying to read and understand the ingredients list on cosmetics is a long and confusing process. It is highly recommended to know what is in your cosmetics, because ...

Cochineal colorants provide “fairly stable color compared to beet and red cabbage juice,” he said. “Basically, (vegetable dyes) bleach.