This is what makes red Smarties red!

[furnace]

I've long known that Smarties had some form of insect in them, I wasn't too sure what colour or what insect so I thought I'd find out tonight.

Pretty gross but thought I'd share This is what they get the red dye from - the colour 'Carmine' (E120) is derived from the Cochineal Insect:

[more pics]

YUMMEH! Remember what's in your mouth next time you eat red smarties - or probably any other red sweet! lol

P.S. I'm not trying to stop anyone from eating them. I don't care who eats what!

 

[furnace]

Knew someone would ask for my sources so I had 'em all ready prepared . It stemmed from random browsing of the MacDonalds website - as you'll probably notice...

Smarties have E120 which is the colour 'Carmine', derived from the Cochineal insect (aka Dactylopius coccus [pics]). Used to be found in Strawberry McDonalds milkshakes until recently, but is in jelly sweets and a variety of other red things.

Hxc; Each to their own though really, some people will only eat chicken breast whereas others don't care what bit of the chicken it is. Everyone has their own taboos regarding what they think is okay to eat!