What Is Carmine? Can You Eat It? A Detailed Explanation of Its Health Risks and National Standards
In recent years, cochineal insects have been promoted as a dye all over the world, and people have found that this red is more vivid and striking than any natural red dye used before. For a time, carmine became the “internet-famous” star of the dye world. So what is carmine? Can you eat it? Does it harm the human body in large amounts?
What is carmine?
On the distant American continent, within the country of Mexico, lives a scale insect of the family Dactylopiidae, genus Dactylopius——the cochineal. They parasitize cacti, surviving by sucking the sap of the cactus. Adult males have wings and can fly, while females have no wings. Female cochineal insects have a special ability: when stressed, they secrete a bright red carminic acid. Through purification and other processes, a red pigment——carmine——can be obtained.
Carmine is an anthraquinone derivative, appearing as red rhombic crystals or reddish-brown powder. Some carmine products sold on the market are also dark red viscous liquids. It is insoluble in cold water and slightly soluble in hot water or ethanol. It dissolves in alkalis but not in dilute acids. It is insoluble in ether, chloroform and benzene. In alkalis and dilute acids, its color changes with the pH of the solution: orange-yellow in acid, dark red when neutral, and purple-red in alkali.
The uses of carmine
Carmine can be used for coloring food, drugs and cosmetics, especially mouthwashes, tooth powders, dusting powders and ointments. When used for coloring solid powder formulations, it is best to first dissolve it in a small amount of concentrated ammonia solution, then add it to the powder and grind for a long time to obtain the best color with uniform distribution. Using aluminum or tin salts as mordants, it can dye silk and wool a bright red. It can be used as a colorant for food, cosmetics and the like, as an indicator for titrating ammonia solutions, and as a reagent for microscopic analysis, fluorescence analysis and so on.
1. Cosmetics
It can be used in lipsticks, foundations, eyeshadows, eyeliners, nail polishes and infant products.
2. Medicine
In the pharmaceutical industry, carmine is used as a coating material for tablets and pellets and as a colorant for capsule shells.
3. Food
Carmine can also be used for coloring foods such as candies, beverages and meat products.
In addition to its coloring function, studies have shown that carmine pigment has a clear effect on preventing DNA damage caused by carcinogens, and it can be used for the prevention and treatment of viral diseases (such as vesicular stomatitis, herpetic stomatitis, etc.), cancer and AIDS .
Carmine mixed with yellow, orange and red pigments such as curcumin, annatto, paprika red and β-carotene can produce a range of products in different shades.
At present, carmine can sell for more than 2000 yuan per kilogram, making it undeniably the “rich beauty” of the pigment world. Whether in food or cosmetics, as long as carmine is used, the cost rises substantially. Therefore, only some mid-to-high-end products use it.
Can carmine be eaten? Does it harm the human body?
Carmine is a natural pigment, and research considers its safety to be very high, with no carcinogenicity and no teratogenicity, LD50>21.5g/kgbw. It is the only organic pigment allowed for eye use in the United States, and also the only natural pigment that the FDA allows to be used in food as well as drugs and cosmetics. It is one of the pigments that has remained enduringly popular, is permanently listed in the United States in the food, drug and cosmetic catalog, and is exempt from certification under a part of the federal regulations. In China it is generally used for coloring dairy products.
National standards for carmine
According to the National Standard of the People's Republic of China: Standard for Uses of Food Additives (GB 2760-2014), in China, the applicable scope and maximum usage amounts of carmine in foods are as shown in the table below:
On December 22, 2017, in accordance with the provisions of the Food Safety Law, the National Health and Family Planning Commission had experts organized by the review body examine and approve the safety assessment materials for the new food nutritional fortifier 6S-5-methyltetrahydrofolate calcium and 8 food additives with expanded scope of use including nitrogen.
Carmine, as a food additive, has been included in the National Food Safety Standard - Standard for Uses of Food Additives (GB 2760) and is permitted for use in food categories such as flavored fermented milk, modified milk powder and modified cream powder, frozen drinks, jams, candies, instant rice and noodle products, compound seasonings, and beverages. This application expands its scope of use to collagen casings (food category 16.03). The Codex Alimentarius Commission, the European Commission, and the US Food and Drug Administration permit its use as a colorant in food. According to the assessment results of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, the acceptable daily intake of this substance is no more than 5 mg/kg·bw.
China's carmine has always depended on imports and has not yet formed a related industrial scale. Moreover, compared with safer but more expensive natural pigments, many manufacturers probably prefer to use synthetic pigments as substitutes.
By the way, in 2012, (US) Starbucks, on the contrary, was strongly protested by some vegetarians for using carmine to make strawberry frappuccinos and desserts. In the end, Starbucks replaced the carmine, which had no safety or quality problems, with lycopene.