Please help to officially ban carmine coloring in all consumer products, especially food, personal care, drugs, and beauty products.

Not only is it disgusting, it is unsafe and completely unnecessary to use, when there are other safe alternatives such as beet juice.

Carmine, or cochineal, may be disguised on an ingredients list as Red #40 or simply "natural colors." Even if a consumer were to ask the company to reveal if cochineal (carmine) is present in the product, the company does not legally have to disclose that information. The only possible guideline a consumer could follow is eating Kosher safe (since Kosher prohibits insect ingredients). It is still very difficult to determine what products contain or do not contain carmine dye.

In 1998, over 10 years ago, there was an urgent message to the FDA to ban carmine because it causes severe allergic reactions:

http://www.cspinet.org/new/carmine_8_24_98.htm

It is hard to believe after all this time it is still so prevalent in our foods and other products. It's found in Dannon and Yoplait yogurts to make the cherry and strawberry flavors more red. It's found in ice cream, meats, juices, drinks, candies, sauces, tomato sauce, and many other common food products, as well as medications, supplements, personal care products and makeup. This should not be allowed in any of the consumer products. It is not worth the risk.

In this case, a 27-year-old female had a severe reaction to a popsicle colored with carmine dye, and a reaction to makeup containing carmine:

http://www.med.umich.edu/intmed/allergy/carmine.htm

Carmine coloring defined:

http://www.foodnet.cgiar.org/market/Tropcomm/part2c2.htm

COCHINEAL (also known as Carmine Red) Dactylopius coccus:

Cochineal is a red dye made from the dried bodies of the pregnant females of the species of insect Dactoylopius coccus which feeds on the cactus Napalea cochinillifera. 

Let's finally put a stop to this unnecessarily risky and possibly fatal, disguised ingredient. Let's not wait any longer on this very important issue.

Thank you for your time and effort.