With synthetic red dyes being phased out across the U.S. food industry, candy companies face a choice: switch to plant-based alternatives like beet extract, paprika, and anthocyanins — or turn to carmine, a red pigment derived from crushing tens of thousands of cochineal insects.
We contacted major candy companies and asked a simple question: will you commit to not using crushed insects to color your products?
Their answers — or their silence — will be documented here.