Posted on 03/29/2012 2:56:59 PM PDT by jakerobins
When Starbucks changed its Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino mix, it made sure the new ingredients were dairy-free. But no one said anything about being bug-free.
Turns out the strawberry sauce used in the coffee chains Frappuccinos contains cochineal extract made from the bodies of ground-up cochineal beetles.
Starbucks made the switch in January, when it aggressively moved away from artificial ingredients.
An anonymous vegan barista who works for Starbucks sent a picture of the sauces ingredient list to a vegetarian blog called
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
Cochineal has been used in food coloring and as a stain for a hell of a long time. The chemistry set I received for Christmas in 1958 included a bottle of cohineal stain which is where I learned about it.
There are four varieties of locusts that are kosher per the Torah, but their identities are unclear.
The Torah states in Parshat Shemini:
“Every flying insect that uses four legs for walking shall be avoided by you. The only flying insects with four walking legs you may eat are those with knees extending above their feet, [using these longer legs] to hop on the ground. Among these you may only eat members of the red locust family, the yellow locust family, the spotted gray locust family and the white locust family. All other flying insects with four feet [for walking] must be avoided by you.”
More here.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_locust
Interesting. Locusts and beetles, though, use six legs for walking.
Unless the Torah considers the rear legs of the grasshopper to be for hopping?
I read somewhere that carmine was not kosher, is that correct?
Oh, yeah, so tell me that you and the missus haven't gone out to "eat a few bugs" in your day.
Beetles aren’t kosher.
Carmine is another name for the cochineal beetle.
Here’s a list of what is and isn’t kosher. It’s just a general guide because not all rabbis agree on what is and isn’t kosher which results in there being about 360+ kosher certifying agencies around the world. Consult your local Orthodox rabbi for more specific information.
http://www.star-k.org/kashrus/kk-palate-secretingredient.htm
I’ve heard of bikers choking to death on a stinging bee or wasp.
That sure sounds like an odd thing for Starbucks to want to use, as it would shut out religious Jews from their clientele.
Next time you go to the grocery store stop by the yogurt section. Look specifically at the ingredients for the cherry or strawberry flavors. You’ll more than likely find carmine or cochineal listed.
Starbugs! I like it.
I read the ingredients on drinks before I buy them. If I see “carmine”, I don’t buy them. Bugs, gross, eww.
***”...instead of good honest coffee like God intended, deserves to be eating bugs in their drink.***
How about the gourmet coffee picked from the manure of certain Asian animals?
Same here - came with my Gilbert Chemistry Set.
LOL, when I first read this I thought it said bugs VETERANS, and I’m thinking....Beetle Bailey?
Unless that could be synthesized from chemicals, that shuts out the kosher dining crowd — and here where other yogurts now use kosher gelatins so they can sell to this crowd. As a Christian I do not worry about this, but if I had Jewish friends who were observant about a biblical diet I would try to respect their wishes.
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