April 19 (Reuters) – Starbucks Corp said on its
blog on Thursday that it will stop using a natural,
government-approved coloring made from crushed beetles in its
strawberry flavoring by late June, bowing to pressure from some
vegetarian customers.
Starbucks has been using the extract in its strawberry
frappuccinos and smoothies, as well as some desserts like
raspberry swirl cake.
“After a thorough, yet fastidious, evaluation, I am pleased
to report that we are reformulating the affected products to
assure the highest quality possible,” Cliff Burrows, president
of Starbucks U.S., wrote in a blog post.
Instead, the coffeehouse chain said it plans to use
lycopene, a natural, tomato-based extract.
Burrows said Starbucks “fell short” of customer
expectations. One blogger in March began an online petition to
pressure Starbucks to stop the practice.
Ground up cochineal beetles is a commonly used Food and Drug
Administration-approved food coloring.
