WASHINGTON - Food and cosmetic labels may soon be required to list the presence of widely used red colorings made from insects, but will not have to disclose the dyes' origins, according to a proposed rule made public Friday.

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed requiring that manufacturers flag the presence of cochineal extract and carmine in their products. The red colorings are extracted from the ground bodies of an insect exploited since the time of the Aztecs.

The proposed rule comes in response to reports of severe allergic reactions to the colorings, the regulatory agency said. A 1998 petition by the Center for Science in the Public Interest asked that the FDA take action.

Cochineal extract has long been made from the dried and ground female bodies of an insect called Dactylopius coccus costa. Indians living in pre-Columbian Mexico were the first to recognize the cactus-sucking insect could be used as a source of dye.

When cochineal extract or carmine are included as ingredients, they can be noted simply as "color added." They're also sometimes listed as E120 on labels.

The FDA said it ruled out banning use of the colorings since it found no evidence of a "significant hazard" to the general population. It also declined to require that labels disclose the colorings are made from insects, as the Center for Science in the Public Interest had asked. The group did not return a message left seeking comment.

Comments on the proposed rule are due April 27.