The Truth Exposed: "Did you know that you may be drinking bug extract?!"(continued)
Me: "Now what's the purpose of that?"
Representative: "Well, if you took a Ruby Red and squeezed it into a glass you
would see kind of a murky pale color......When people think
of Ruby Red.....they expect a bright, ruby red, perky
color...and that's not what naturally [appears when you
squeeze the grapefruit]....So we do pride ourselves as a
company that likes to work with food products as naturally as
possible...so we don't put anything artificial in there......We
don't use any chemical dyes but we do have the carminic acid
in there as a natural color."
Me: "Really? And there was no other alternative like maybe an extract from different
colored grapes that maybe you could have tailored to...."
Representative: "No. To deal with the juice...and the high acidity of the
grapefruit....things had to be considered. That was the best as
far as how long the juice lasted. But it is derived from the
beetle and it's in quite a few products if you read their
ingredients."
Me: "Oh really?"
Representative: "[It's in] different types of aspirin and ibuprofens. It's a
natural thing. People have this misunderstanding that they're
consuming an insect. It's something that's naturally derived.
It's not an insect and it's not like we have a squashed bug in
it."
Me: "But you have to squash the bug to get it though, right?"
Representative: "Well, it's a process. A chemical process in a lab. It's
something that's just extracted from the shell."
Me: "So you're squashing the bug in the lab to get the extract?"
Representative: "I really don't know exactly what the process is. I really don't
know all the details of the process."
Me: "OK. So has it always been in the Ruby Red for all the 5 years it's been on the
market?"
Representative: "Yes it has. It's been in some of the other products like Ruby
Strawberry. So if you'd like to know every product it's in I
could...."
Me: "No that's OK."
Me: "I'd be curious to know though, in terms of quantity, how much....in either
milliliters or grams or whatever..."
Representative: "Actually that's proprietary information."
Me: "Ah, ok. So you can't tell me that?"
Representative: "I don't even know."
Me: "Ah, OK. Hmmm. Well I guess that about covers all the questions I had
involving the Ruby Red."
Representative: "You sure?"
Me: "I think so. I think so, yeah. In the other countries that you mentioned that it's
sold in, and you mentioned that they changed the amounts of the different
constituents of the juice. Is that[cochineal extract] also present in the juices for
the other countries?"
Representative: "I believe so, yes."
Me: "Oh, OK. Hmm. But just in different quantities...different amounts?"
Representative: "Actually 'that' (the color of the product) remains the same
and that has nothing to do with the flavor of the product."
Me: "Hmm. OK."
Representative: "Our red drinks which is all of the cranberry ones have no
color[ing] in them at all."
Me: "Now why is that?"
Representative: "Well, because cranberries have such a bright natural color
that we don't.......Cranberry juice is naturally red. It
doesn't need color. It's true to its name."
Me: "Mm-hm."
Representative: "If you took a grapefruit, squeezed it, it's not aesthetically
pleasing. Americans are very into 'things need to be aesthetic,
I need to look at it..does it represent what I think it should?' "
Me: "Now the name 'Ruby Red' is that actually the type of a grapefruit or is that just
something that was......"
Representative: "If you go to the grocery store there are Ruby Red
grapefruits."
Me: "Now what's the difference between a Ruby Red grapefruit and an Indian River
grapefruit?"
Representative: "Indian River is where they're grown."
Me: "Ah. OK. So 'Indian River' is not actually the name of a grapefruit."
Representative: "No. There's also Pink Grapefruit juice cocktail which [has]
White grapefruits. The White grapefruits definitely have a
lighter hue, the Pink grapefruits have a very very light almost
clear hue. The Ruby Reds have a darker hue but they are not
a 'ruby red' color. In fact, the color of the juice represents the
color of the fruit. If you cut a Ruby Red grapefruit open, it has
that really bright ruby red color. "
Me: "Really?"
Representative: "Yes. If you opened one up and you held it up [next] to a
bottle of the juice they are very close in color."
Me: "Well why couldn't that color be imparted into the actual product?"
Representative: "Because the color of the juice is not the same. If you squeezed
it, it does not represent the fruit."
Me: "Ah, so it's something outside of the juice that's giving it that color?"
Representative: "Right."
Me: "Ah. OK. Hmm. Interesting. Well, I guess I've learned everything I ever wanted
to know about Ruby Red grapefruit juice."
Me: "Allright, well, thanks Xxxxxxxx!"
Representative: "Oh you're welcome! And have a good weekend!"
Me: "OK. Bye!"
The conversation confirmed my colleague's claim. Insects are used in the production of Ruby Red grapefruit juice drink. I returned to the store to see if other companies used the same ingredient in their 'Ruby Red' products. To my amazement, every Ruby Red juice drink I found contained cochineal extract.
The producers of this type of juice drink are not required or obligated to divulge how they obtain their cochineal extract. To their credit, the juice producer's representative that I spoke with freely admitted how cochineal extract is derived. However, I would question real need for the extract's use. I'm sure pigments from cherries, grapes, or some other red fruit could be substituted in place of the carminic acid. I would venture to guess that the added cost of using a new coloring agent would be almost negligible. Is there anything fundamentally wrong with using insect extracts in consumer products? Bacteria cultures are used in the production of most cheeses. Certain types of beef are 'cured' for a period of time allowing bacterial growth to occur. In certain third world countries, raw insects are considered a delicacy. Ultimately I believe the consumer determines what is or is not acceptable in the marketplace. This determination is based on product awareness and personal preference.
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