this writer missed the point on a lot of these. Appears the research was pretty superficial. The point is carrageenan. Extracted from red seaweed. It is suspected of being carcinogenic, but it definitely has harmful effects on human intestinal cells.
It's used as a thickening or gelling agent or as an emulsifier to keep ingredients in food from separating. It’s injected into raw chicken and other meats to help them retain water. It’s used to keep cocoa from separating from milk in chocolate milk. It appears in ice creams, jellies, cottage cheese, toothpaste, fruit gushers, infant formulas and much, much more. Pretty useful stuff, I’d say. And the fact that Carrageenan is also used to de-ice frozen airplanes makes it even more impressive.
But lots of folks think it's pretty dangerous. Here's just one link: http://www.cornucopia.org/2012/06/eminent-scientist-addresses-impact-of-carrageenan-in-food/
Sort of the same thing going on with the cochineal (red dye). The real scandal here, if there is one, is that the coloring is rarely labeled. Some people have allergies. Some people just wouldn't like to eat bugs if they knew it. (not exactly vegetarian 
And some have religious issues.
There's some substance underneath several of the issues in the article, but it's delivered as yellow journalism and really pretty shallow.
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