4 ms·

Synthetic and “natural” is so hazy. What’s the difference between a dye that’s synthetically made and one where we crush up bugs and extract the same exact chem

Synthetic and “natural” is so hazy. What’s the difference between a dye that’s synthetically made and one where we crush up bugs and extract the same exact chemical (real thing.). Why don’t we just eliminate most dyes overall…

giancarlostoro 1y ago
You will eat the bugs...
- syntaxing 1y ago
  I have some bad news for you if that bothers you https://www.livescience.com/36292-red-food-dye-bugs-cochineal-carmine.html https://www.livescience.com/36292-red-food-dye-bugs-cochinea.... That’s where “natural” dye comes from
  - giancarlostoro 1y ago
    Interesting read! At least it's not cockroaches. The bugs look like raspberries funnily enough.
colechristensen 1y ago
Eh. Being honest with dyes there's a pretty strong distinction between "natural" dyes going through several extraction and purification steps but remaining more or less the same intact molecule found in something alive. "Synthetic" dyes being the result of a long chain of steps and intermediate molecules which are usually ultimately sourced from things like air, petroleum, and seawater. Science literacy is bad so people have problems articulating the issue of concern which is "it is fair to have concerns about novel chemicals making their way into the food supply which evolution has not had a chance to address", not that something not found in nature is automatically bad but that such things need to be introduced carefully. People don't know science though so everything is turning into "if it's not found in nature it is a monster and unclean", which to be honest is fair to a degree for people who don't know being forced to accept things blindly and asked to trust that everything is fine from people who would gladly disregard dangers in exchange for a fraction of a cent in profit margin. That doesn't mean they're making good decisions just that their fear is justified.
KolibriFly 1y ago
Yeah, the line between "natural" and "synthetic" is mostly vibes at this point
- teruakohatu 1y ago
  Wikipedia says about carmine … > To prepare carmine, the powdered insect bodies are boiled in ammonia or a sodium carbonate solution, the insoluble matter is removed by filtering, and alum is added to the clear salt solution of carminic acid to precipitate the red aluminium salt. Purity of color is ensured by the absence of iron. Stannous chloride, citric acid, borax, or gelatin may be added to regulate the formation of the precipitate. For shades of purple, lime is added to the alum. At this point how natural is it?

giancarlostoro 1y ago

You will eat the bugs...

syntaxing 1y ago
I have some bad news for you if that bothers you https://www.livescience.com/36292-red-food-dye-bugs-cochineal-carmine.html https://www.livescience.com/36292-red-food-dye-bugs-cochinea.... That’s where “natural” dye comes from
- giancarlostoro 1y ago
  Interesting read! At least it's not cockroaches. The bugs look like raspberries funnily enough.

colechristensen 1y ago

Eh. Being honest with dyes there's a pretty strong distinction between "natural" dyes going through several extraction and purification steps but remaining more or less the same intact molecule found in something alive. "Synthetic" dyes being the result of a long chain of steps and intermediate molecules which are usually ultimately sourced from things like air, petroleum, and seawater. Science literacy is bad so people have problems articulating the issue of concern which is "it is fair to have concerns about novel chemicals making their way into the food supply which evolution has not had a chance to address", not that something not found in nature is automatically bad but that such things need to be introduced carefully. People don't know science though so everything is turning into "if it's not found in nature it is a monster and unclean", which to be honest is fair to a degree for people who don't know being forced to accept things blindly and asked to trust that everything is fine from people who would gladly disregard dangers in exchange for a fraction of a cent in profit margin. That doesn't mean they're making good decisions just that their fear is justified.

KolibriFly 1y ago

Yeah, the line between "natural" and "synthetic" is mostly vibes at this point

teruakohatu 1y ago
Wikipedia says about carmine … > To prepare carmine, the powdered insect bodies are boiled in ammonia or a sodium carbonate solution, the insoluble matter is removed by filtering, and alum is added to the clear salt solution of carminic acid to precipitate the red aluminium salt. Purity of color is ensured by the absence of iron. Stannous chloride, citric acid, borax, or gelatin may be added to regulate the formation of the precipitate. For shades of purple, lime is added to the alum. At this point how natural is it?