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My Daughter Eats Bug-Free Yogurt!
March 2, 2009 at 12:26 PM by Cafe Cynthia - Comments (24)
As I was scanning the news wires (dangerous), I came across a bit about how red bugs from Peru are routinely used as a food coloring for popular kids' goodies like juice and yogurt.
(Insert major panic attack here.)
My daughter subsists on strawberry yogurt. And not just any strawberry yogurt. Believe me, I have tried. Only Stonyfield Farm Organic Low-Fat Strawberry Yogurt. And not just any size. Believe me, I have tried. Only the Stonyfield Farm Organic Low-Fat Strawberry Yogurt in the big BIG 32-ounce container.
And she will only eat it directly OUT of the container. Don't ever (EVER!) try to serve my 4-year-old daughter strawberry yogurt in a bowl like a regular kid or you will be very sorry.
Did you know that the technical name for smushed up bug carcasses is carmine or cochineal extracts? I didn't. With visions of South American insects floating through my baby's intestines the past three years, I ran to the fridge to check the ingredients. No container. (I knew there was something I forgot to do yesterday.)
So I ran to the computer and blasted off an email to Stonyfield Farm up in bucholic New Hampshire, asking them if they cook with insects. I got a reply within the hour, and this is the email:
"Thanks for checking with us about the use of carmine. We do not use this in any of our products so, yes, our products are bug free! Thanks again for contacting us."
(Insert major sigh of relief here.)
According to the FDA, carmine is safe to eat. It's an insect, not poison, after all. I'm sure kids eat bugs all the time when we're not looking. Maybe the idea of bugs in regular food doesn't even bug some mothers.
But it bugs me.
Do you freak out about all the "stuff," bugs and otherwise, that no doubt find their way into our food supply? Or is it no big deal to you?
Comments:
We use stonyfield farms yogurts haha. :) It doesn't gross me out as much as the rest of the crap that gets put in food.
It's not just in yogurt. :) Go check your chapstick - I bet it's colored with beetles!
Seriously, it doesn't bother me in the slightest. At least it's HEALTHY for you, like Tanya said.
Just an FYI... if the bugs gross you out- allowing your daughter to eat yogurt out of the container can lead to trouble as well. When taking a bite off a spoon and returning it to the container puts amounts of saliva into the container. Human saliva causes a break down of the yogurt and causes it to curdle faster!
This isn't normally a problem, since we normally dish it out of the container or eat it out of serving sized containers... but it can cause trouble for the larger containers.
Actually that particular bug dye is one of the NUMBER 1 allergens for a child. Bet many did not know that. I didn't either till i was informed by my pediatrician. It is also the one they talk about the least...
Yeah, listen it's not only in yogurt but in most foods you eat. For example, ketsup, canned fruit, tomato sauce, potatos, etc
They are probably farmed and therefore not dirty. just like a chicken or pig is raised on a farm for the market.
I'd rather have that than the artificial colors that are bad for you. But we only do the plant dyes. (yes they do have the ocasional treats w/ artificial color)
eating out of the yougurt container and putting it back in the fridge- re-eating- etc- is icky, too- as afore mentioned... LOL
Bugs in food are gross. So is eating directly out of the container if you are going the eat the rest later. Bacteria grows because of the saliva you put into the container.
I don't know which is worse! LOL!
We love Stoneyfield Farms yogurt. We started buying it because it's one of the few yogurts that don't contain aspartame. Personally, I would rather eat the bugs than aspartame, HFC or many other food additives, but still, I'm happy to know there are no bugs in our yogurt.
I think it's funny to see people freaking out about the bugs when they are consuming so many worse things, at least the bugs are all natural.
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Yeah it's pretty gross. Although I would take a bug over HFCS, MSG, or partially hydrogenated oils anyday!
TanyaR1024 Mar. 2, 2009 at 12:57 PM