The Coca-Cola Company had to reveal the secret of the composition of its famous drink. It turns out that the soda is colored with food coloring made from insects.
This story dragged on for almost three years. The head of the St. Nicholas Foundation, a secular organization from Turkey, sued the Coca-Cola Company to disclose the composition of its drink, which was traditionally considered secret. There was even a rumor about rival Pepsi-Cola that only two people in the company knew its secret, and each only half of the secret.
All this is nonsense. In fact, there has been no secret for a long time, since modern physical and chemical analysis devices in a few hours will give anyone who wishes a detailed table of the substances that make up anything – even soda, even “singed” vodka. However, this will only be information about substances, and not about the raw materials for their production, here science, if not powerless, is far from omnipotent.
The label of the drink loved by unreasonable teenagers usually says that the product contains sugar, phosphoric acid, caffeine, caramel, carbonic acid and some kind of extract. This extract aroused the suspicion of the plaintiff, who argued his claim with the Turkish Consumer Protection Law. And in it, as well as in our domestic law, it is directly stated that the consumer has the right to know what he is fed.
And the company had to reveal its secret. The composition of the extract, in addition to some exotic vegetable oils, includes the natural dye carmine, which is obtained from the dried bodies of the cochineal insect. This insect lives in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Poland, but the most prolific and valuable mealybug has chosen Mexican cacti. By the way, chervets – another name for cochineal, does not come from the word “worm” at all, but from the common Slavic “red”, like “chervonets”.
Carmine is harmless and has been used to dye fabrics since biblical times and in the food industry for over 100 years. Not only soda, but also various confectionery products and some dairy products are tinted with carmine. But to get 1 g of carmine, a lot of insects are exterminated, and the “greens” have already begun to stand up for the poor cockroach insects.