Squashed female cochineal bugs, to be specific ... But it wasn't until more recently that they made their way into commercial foods. From 1955 to 2010, the consumption of food coloring rose ...

For the National Geographic web series Ingredients, chemist George Zaidan studies what’s inside the food we eat and the items we commonly use. The extract of cochineal tends to come up a lot.

But today, Peru dominates the market, and Mexico’s cochineal farms are disappearing ... cosmetics, and foods like M&Ms and Yoplait yogurt. Indigenous people across Latin America traded it ...

Centuries before the now-banned red dye No. 3 was synthesized in a lab, humans turned to insects to color their foods, ...

Worcestershire Sauce – Traditional versions contain anchovies, making it non-vegetarian. Beer and Wine – Some brands use isinglass, a fish bladder extract, for filtration. Processed Sugar – In some ...

Made from animal collagen, often found in jelly and gummies. Contains rennet, an enzyme extracted from calf stomach lining.

Unknowing to the consumer, many vegetarian-labeled foods may actually contain non-vegetarian ingredients. Hidden animal-based ingredients can be found in regular favourites like cheese and sauces.