What is Cochineal Powder?
Cochineal Powder, also known as carminic acid, carminic acid. It is a natural anthraquinone pigment extracted from the female cochineal parasitic cactus. It was pink to purple, and its LD50>21.59/kg BW. Non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, and teratogenic, its safety is very high. It is the only organic pigment approved for use on the eyes in the United States.
It is also the only natural color approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in both food and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. cochineal extract is one of the long-lasting pigments and is regarded as the safest natural pigment used in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and textiles.
Item | Specification |
Appearance | Red diamond crystal or reddish-brown powder |
Color Value E1%1cm | 120 |
Loss on Drying | ≤10% |
Arsenic | ≤2ppm |
Lead | ≤2ppm |
Microbiological Tests | |
Total Plate Count | ≤1000 cfu/g |
Yeast and Mold | ≤100 cfu/g |
Coliforms | ≤3mpn/g |
E.Coli | Negative |
How to extract Cochineal Powder For Sale?
Collection and handling of cochineal worms :
When the female is about to lay eggs, the worm's body turns bright red. At this time, the cochineal red was the highest, which was suitable for collection. The collection of cochineal insects has always been carried out manually, generally with a brush to remove the worms. Live cochineal worms cannot be sold directly and require further killing and drying.
Treat the cochineal with hot water or steam first to effectively remove wax and fat. Then bask or bake in the sun to get "purple black cochineal" with better quality. This is the most common method for preparing dried cochineal. The drying treatment made the cochineal worms lose about 70% of their weight, and 70,000 to 100,000 cochineal worms could obtain about 1 kg of dried cochineal worms.
Production of cochineal pigment :
In addition to the main component carminic acid, dried cochineal also contains protein, wax, and lipid. The presence of these non-color components will reduce the color ability of the product and affect the quality of the product. And worm proteins can also cause allergic reactions in some sensitive individuals. It is very important to extract carminic acid into the preparation of a certain purity and a certain form.
The traditional preparation method is to take advantage of the properties of carminic acid which is easily soluble in water and ethanol. Extract with water or dilute ethanol at 90-100 °C. The red color is dissolved in the solution, and the insoluble components of the parasite are filtered out. Remove the ethanol in the extract to obtain its concentrated solution, namely the carmine extract. Add aluminum hydroxide or alum to the extract, and collect the precipitate to obtain carmine.
At present, industrial production is carried out on the basis of traditional methods. As trade secrets are kept strictly confidential by the respective manufacturers. According to the standards of the International Development Research Center of Canada (IDRC), the industrial production of carmine includes the following steps: organic solvent treatment, removal of wax and lipids; pulverization; alkali extraction; solid-liquid separation; formation of insoluble precipitates with aluminum and calcium salts; recovery of precipitates; dissolution of precipitates; concentration; the processing of formulations.
Is Cochineal Powder For Sale Harmful?
The in vitro experiments of cochineal red pigment and the in vivo experiments in mice showed that it was non-toxic and non-mutagenic. Three consecutive generations of mice were given 500 mg of cochineal red pigment per kilogram of body weight daily, and the growth, reproduction, and embryonic development of the mice were not affected in any way.
According to the results of toxicity experiments in mice. With a 100-fold safety factor, the AID (mg per kg body weight per day) of cochineal pigment is 25. Or the daily intake is 1 000 mg/kg of the dietary intake, while the consumption of general food is 0.0025-25 mg/kg, and the high one is only 75-100 mg/kg. Considering that the total intake of cochineal pigment is far below the safe limit, FAO/WHO (2001) does not stipulate its AID, and FDA stipulates that it can be safely used in food, limited to GMP.
Recommended dosage:
Different countries allow different ranges and amounts of additives. In the same country, depending on the type of food, the allowable amount of addition is also different. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have designated the limits as 100 mg/L for soft drinks and 50 to 500 mg/kg for solid foods.
According to FAO/WHO (1984), 20 mg/kg for flavored yogurt, 0.01% to 3% for meat, fish, beverages, chocolate, etc. The Japanese regulations stipulate that it is used in ketchup and sausages 0.05% to 0.1%, beverages 0.03% to 0.1%, and desserts 0.05% to 0.2%. The FDA does not stipulate the amount of its addition to each product, and users can add it according to the required shade, cost, and benefit.
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