Carmine is used in ice cream, strawberry milk, fake crab and lobster, fruit cocktail cherries, port wine cheese, lumpfish eggs and liqueurs like Campari, according to the FDA. Carmine's also used in lipstick, makeup base, eye shadow, eyeliners, nail polishes and baby products.

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed requiring that manufacturers flag the presence of cochineal extract and carmine in their products. The red colorings are extracted from the ground bodies of an insect exploited since the time of the Aztecs.

The proposed rule comes in response to reports of severe allergic reactions to the colorings, the regulatory agency said. A 1998 petition by the Center for Science in the Public Interest asked that the FDA take action.

Ice Cream, Strawberry Milk, Cherries

Carmine is used in ice cream, strawberry milk, fake crab and lobster, fruit cocktail cherries, port wine cheese, lumpfish eggs and liqueurs like Campari, according to the FDA. Carmine's also used in lipstick, makeup base, eye shadow, eyeliners, nail polishes and baby products, the agency said.

Cochineal extract is used in fruit drinks, candy, yogurt and some processed foods.

Cochineal extract has long been made from the dried and ground female bodies of an insect called Dactylopius coccus costa. Indians living in pre-Columbian Mexico were the first to recognize the cactus-sucking insect could be used as a source of dye.

In the present day, when cochineal extract or carmine are included as ingredients, their presence can be noted simply as "color added." They're also sometimes listed as E120 on labels, according to the FDA.

No 'Significant Hazard' to General Population

As of February 2004, the FDA said it knew of 35 cases of hypersensitivity to carmine, cochineal extract or carminic acid. Carminic acid is what gives cochineal extract its dark purplish-red color. The acid is used to make carmine.

The FDA said it ruled out banning use of the colorings since it found no evidence of a "significant hazard" to the general population. It also declined to require that labels disclose the colorings are made from insects, as the Center for Science in the Public Interest had asked. The group did not immediately return a message left seeking comment.

The agency said comments on the proposed rule are due April 27.

The FDA plans to tackle the labeling of prescription drugs that include the colorings in a separate rule.