The coffee franchise, Starbucks, announced that it is removing the use of insects as food dye in its drinks and food products. In a blog on Thursday, Starbucks President Cliff Burrows wrote that the coffee shop is “transitioning” away from the use of an insect called the cochineal. In his blog, Burrow said that Starbucks “fell short of your expectations by using natural cochineal extract as a colorant in four food and two beverage offerings in the United States.” The products in question containing the insect food dye were identified by Burrow as the Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino, Strawberry Banana Smoothie, Raspberry Swirl Cake, Birthday Cake Pop, Mini Donut with pink icing, and Red Velvet Whoopie Pie.
The use of the insect dye will be “fully transitioned from existing product inventories” by the end of June and will be replaced by lycopene, a tomato-based extract, Burrows said. The change came about after numerous petitions and individual requests from customers who were concerned about the use of an insect-based extract. The cochineal is described as a natural product, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and poses no health risk.
