The horrifying protein source thats likely hiding in your coffee

Is there something mo’ hiding in your cuppa joe?A woman named Tay went to the doctor recently to address problems with her GI tract.“They thought I had Crohn’s disease, a gluten allergy, high [or] low blood pressure.you name it,” she recounted on TikTok.It turns out it was her coffee she was allergic to — and not the coffee itself, but an unexpected ingredient.The ingredient was cochineal, a scale insect that lives on cactuses.

When crushed up, they create a deep red color.If you see “carmine”, “crimson lake” or “Natural Red 4” on an ingredient list, it’s made from the same bug.“And then the doctor laughs, [they said] a little protein never hurt nobody,” she said.

“But in your case, it is hurting you.”Cochineal is an ingredient you’ll find in a variety of processed foods to add color: from yogurt to candies, juices, hot dogs, and makeup, including lipstick and blush.Cochineal aren’t cockroaches or beetles, two common misconceptions.This particular bug is added on purpose, for color.

But more disturbingly, there’s also likely ground up bugs in your coffee that got there by accident.About half of Americans drink coffee every day, and about 40% of the coffee purchased in the US is already ground.That means coffee is being processed, roasted and ground at an immense, industrial scale — and some pests are bound to get mixed in during the process.That’s why the FDA has an acceptable level of bugs and mold in coffee and other foods.The agency allows up to 10% of green coffee (before it’s roasted) to be infested or damaged by insects.The biggest pest is the coffee berry borer beetle (Hypothenemus hampei) — the bug at all stages of its life cycle, as well as its debris (i.e.

its poop and shed skin) may be found in coffee, the FDA wrote.Plus, there’s the coffee bean weevil (Araecerus fasciculatus), which gets into the coffee during storage.You might also come across the warehouse beetle (Trogoderma variabile), which love...