Starbucks plans to take bugs out of drink

SEATTLE, WA—Starbucks is looking for a replacement for ground up bugs to give its Strawberries and Crème Frappuccino its pink colour.

The news came as an unpleasant surprise to vegans and non-bug eaters when a Starbucks vegan barista sent a list of the drink’s ingredients late in Marchto a blog called ThisDishIsVegetairan.com, revealing that the colouring came from cochineal extract, made from ground up insects that live in Latin America. So, although the café chain uses soy milk for the specialty coffee to make it dairy free, Starbucks ran afoul of eating rules for vegans and other vegetarians by starting to colour it with a product from bug bodies a few years ago.

A common natural dye used in the food industry, as well as to colour things such as lipstick, cochineal was chosen by Starbucks in a move to eliminate artificial ingredients from its menu items.

Besides the frappuccino, other food and drink sold by Starbucks contains the substance, including strawberry smoothies and red velvet whoopee pies.

Now, seeking to mollify those who like the frappuccino but not bugs in their diet, Starbucks is trying to find a substitute for cochineal, according to chief executive officer Howard Schultz who was interviewed on CBS This Morning last week.

He told the interviewer that although cochineal is “everywhere” and “all-natural” his company was looking at other ingredients and would probably reformulate the strawberry frappuccino. “We're going to make the right decision."