Does Starbucks Use Food Coloring

Starbucks U.S. president Cliff Burrows wrote in a company blog that the company will transition to lycopene, a natural tomato. Cochineal is a red dye made from a crushed insect native to Latin America.

Some vegetarians are distressed that Starbucks uses the dye in some of its pink. Starbucks will stop using a red food dye made from bugs, its president recently wrote in a blog post. Despite the attention Starbucks has received for using the insect.

Starbucks recently replaced the troublesome artificial red dyes used in their strawberry drinks with Cochineal, a coloring made from crushed parasitic beetles. Carmine is a bright red pigment made from cochineal insects, commonly used in cosmetics, food coloring, and art, valued for its vibrant, rich color. These bugs have dyed our food red for centuries, but the discovery of Starbucks' use of these bugs in their drinks (which many argued made the drinks not vegan) sparked an interest.

Starbucks has declared that it will no longer use cochineal extract, an insect-derived red coloring, in its wares. If anyone is imagining that the use of this dye is rare or new, they're mistaken. Starbucks has announced that it will stop using cochineal extract, a red dye made from crushed parasitic beetles, in its Strawberry and Creme Frappuccino drinks and other products.

The chain has faced public outcry after news of the red dyes used in their strawberry drinks contained cochineal, a coloring made from these insects. In response to consumer pressure, Starbucks announced it will replace cochineal coloring derived from crushed bugs and instead use a tomato-based ingredient to color several products, including its strawberry Frappuccinos. Starbucks had used the coloring in its strawberry flavored mixed drinks and foods like the raspberry swirl cake and red velvet whoopie pie.