Coloring naturally

D.D. Williamson, the largest caramel color manufacturer in the world, created two certified organic caramel colors – one from organic sugar cane and one from organic rice. “With allergies being such a concern these days, rice is one of the safest options,” says Parker.

“There are no real limitations to caramel color,” says Brian Sethness, of Sethness Caramel Color (www.sethness.com), Lincolnwood, Ill. The company also launched an organic sugar cane-based caramel color this year. “You can bake it, retort it, extrude it and the caramel color will remain. It costs a little more than the typical product, but people are willing to pay more for organic.”

Due to certain chemical processes, certified-organic caramel colors currently are available only in lighter shades, requiring more colorant to reach deeper shades.

Seeing red

One of the most talked about colors in the industry right now is carmine. Carmine extract has been used since the 1900s as a food colorant for everything from hot dogs to maraschino cherries. However, these days you could say the color is really “bugging” people – literally.

This bright red color is extracted from the cochineal beetle and has been linked to several cases of anaphylactic shock reported to the FDA. Some groups are suggesting FDA ban carmine altogether, or at least clearly label it as cochineal beetle extract so vegetarians or people with allergies can avoid it.
FDA is reviewing carmine/cochineal, but at this time is proposing to require products containing the extract to list it by name. Currently, the ingredient only requires the vague “color added” or “artificial colors” designations.

“This is not a major allergen, but there are reports out there. By at least requiring label declaration, those who want to avoid it can,” says Mical Honigfort, an FDA representative.

Carmine has generated a lot of attention with consumers and processors. “With the rise in awareness, and new labeling laws, many processors may not want to put something thought of by the public as ‘bug juice’ on the label. Other than that, carmine is a well-established product that’s worked well in many applications, with excellent stability,” says Stefan Hake, CEO of GNT Group (www.gnt-group.com), Tarrytown, N.Y.

Carminic acid is one of the most light- and heat-stable of all the natural colorants and is even more stable than many synthetic food colors, so replacing it is not an easy task. “There just is no alternative that is as stable as carmine. It may be the only natural option for some products,” says Armao of Wild Flavors.

In the beverage industry, there has been a strong interest for a natural color to replace Red 40. Food Ingredient Solutions recently introduced its Vegetable Juice Color 6003, a naturally derived, kosher colorant stable under typical application conditions. The company also is rolling out a line of naturally derived pigments to replace synthetic lakes, working with the FDA to expand permitted uses of chlorophyllin as a food colorant and will soon release a new elderberry red with substantially improved stability.

LycoRed Corp. (www.lycored.com), Fairfield, N.J., makes TomatORed, a natural lycopene extract recently approved for use as a color by the FDA this year. The extract is highly stable under a wide range of temperatures, processing conditions and pH shifts. It’s additive-free and available as a liquid dispersion or a cold-water dispersible powder.

"TomatORed is very stable and easy to use. It also has a very clean label and is both kosher and vegetarian," says Rodger Jonas, national business development manager for PL Thomas (www.plthomas.com), Morristown, N.J., the U.S. distributor for LycoRed. "There also are health benefits associated with Iycopene, such as support for cardiovascular health and protection from cell damage," Jonas adds.