Amazing food fact: Confectioner's glaze, a common coating on candies and pills, is made from the bodily excretions of an Asian beetle

Wednesday, August 03, 2011 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: confectioner's glaze, shellac, health news

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(NaturalNews) Confectioner's glaze, also called pharmaceutical glaze, resinous glaze, pure food glaze and natural glaze, is a common ingredient in candies and pills. By any name, it's the same ingredient as shellac, the chemical sold in hardware stores that's used for sealing and varnishing wood floors. Check the ingredients of any over-the-counter drugs you may own, too: It's a common ingredient in children's medicines and even some children's frozen foods.

Shellac is actually a chemical secreted by female lac bugs (Laccifer lacca), a type of "scale insect." They create shellac in order to form sheltering tunnels as they travel along the outside of trees. It is extracted for industrial use by scraping bark, bugs and tunnels off of trees in Asian forests and into canvas tubes. The tubes are then heated over a flame until the shellac melts and seeps out of the canvas, after which it is dried into flakes for sale. Before use in food or as varnish, the shellac must be re-dissolved in denatured alcohol.

The FDA classifies shellac as GRAS, or Generally Recognize As Safe. Instead, they should probably classify it as "beetle juice!" Shellac is also used in shampoo, lipstick, hairspray, chewing gum and coffee beans. Before vinyl records came along in the 1940's, records were pressed out of shellac. Common candies containing shellac include Hershey's Mild Duds and Skittles (sold in the UK only, as US Skittles do not contain shellac).

Shellac is also used to coat aspirin pills to help prevent stomach irritation.

Source: 25 Amazing Facts About Food, authored by Mike Adams and David Guiterrez. This report reveals surprising things about where your food comes from and what's really in it! Download the full report (FREE) by clicking here. Inside, you'll learn 24 more amazing but true facts about foods, beverages and food ingredients. Instant download of the complete PDF. All 25 facts are documented and true.