A young mother has been left devastated after discovering she accidentally served her children ‘crushed insects’ when dishing up a holiday treat.
Katrina Mitra35, bought her children a pack of mini Easter biscuits after quickly scanning the ingredient list.
She thought the treats looked good since they were dairy and egg free – then came home and made her skin-crawling discovery.
‘There was one word I had never heard of before so when I got home I Googled it,’ she explained.
The word: Cochineal. A shelled insect which is dried and crushed into a natural dye for food and textiles.
‘Have you heard of it? Seriously, I’m disgusted. I don’t know why this has to be in a biscuit.’
Katrina has a low-tox business, Raw glowand is proud of her healthy diet and lifestyle, but says adding insects to food is too much.
She looked devastated as she stared into the camera as she described the insects.
‘Are you kidding me? To me it’s like toxic. None of us will eat these again, and don’t let your family eat these either,’ she said, despite cochineal being approved for food in Australia.
The mother’s video went viral and many agreed that they want nothing to do with eating insects.
“So important to do your research and check everything, so many hidden things these days,” said one woman.
Katrina Mitra, 35, bought her children a packet of mini Easter crackers after quickly scanning the ingredient list
“We’re heading into a future where the elite want us to eat bugs…must boycott NOW,” said another.
“Just because it’s been used for centuries doesn’t make it okay to eat BUGS,” screamed another.
Others slapped her and told her to educate herself on how to cook.
‘Good grief girl… cochineal has been used for decades and is completely harmless. it doesn’t matter where it comes from, it’s just another animal byproduct,” one woman slammed.
The word: Cochineal. A shelled insect which is dried and crushed into a natural dye for food and textiles
“People want natural colors but don’t want to know where the color comes from,” said another.
People warned her not to look up rennet, an enzyme found in the stomachs of calves and commonly used to make cheese or gelatin – if she’s upset about the bugs.
Katrina told FEMAIL that she has done some research since making the video last week and understands that the insects are a key ingredient across many well-known food brands.
Arnotts Tim Tams used the ingredient as Shapes, Pasito and Pascall – for its famous marshmallows.
