Consistent and Sustainable Natural Colour in Products: some practical considerations Cheryl Walker Analytical Development Technologist Britvic Soft Drinks Plc
Scope Why natural colours? What are they? Is natural sustainable? What are the constraints? Overcoming those constraints
Introduction Soft Drinks Soft Drinks - expanding product category now includes water enhancers Refreshing source of hydration Potential to improve nutrition in a pleasant, convenient way Responsibility to help consumers make infirmed choices
Why Natural Colours EU report 2013 - identified concern about additives in food as major issue 85% of respondents to EFSA survey Industry response -85% new product launches are formulations containing natural colours or claiming no artificial colours Consumer led development
What are they? There is not a legal definition of a natural colour in Europe Colouring foods are concentrates which are non selectively extracted from fruit or vegetables traditionally consumed as foods Colours added to foods must be labelled as such, there is no distinction between colours of natural origin and synthetic pigments. Colours of natural origin are strongly coloured pigments that are extracted from natural materials
why add them? Not all fruits are strongly coloured Fruit loses colour as the result of processing Variability in colour of fruit Some blends do not have the colour expected Influence of colour on perceived flavour
Strongly coloured fruit
Fruit without colour added
Is Natural sustainable? World wide demand has grown spectacularly over past 10 years Limitations of suitable land Agricultural cycle -it takes about 4 years to ramp up supply to meet increases in demand. Applications for natural colours have increased to include all of food industry.
Sources and types Colouring foods clearly defined from food crops e.g. black carrot, fruit, spices Colours of natural origin - variety of sources Biotechnology algal colours Microbial fermentation
Constraints Technical Natural colours start to destabilise once they are extracted Prone to oxidation Maillard reaction Light can cause browning or fading Colouring foods are non selective extracts of fruit, vegetables and plants Associated off flavours
Technical constraints Stability can be influenced by: Temperature Dissolved oxygen Interactions between ingredients- ascorbic acid and anthocyanins for example Water quality Packaging Residues and heavy metals
Remedies Formulation The main factor is oxidative damage include antioxidants Poor miscibility - add emulsifiers Formation of haze polysaccharides in an acidic environment form floc. Use clarified juices and liquid sugar Use the least amount of the colour that you can Use colouring foods of vegetable origin. Formulate with strongly coloured fruit juices
Remedies - Packaging Smart packaging - multilayer PET with oxygen scavengers Opaque packaging to filter out light Multiwall cartons minimal headspace and light exposure, very good oxygen barriers. Cans
Remedies Processing HPP avoids heat damage and protects flavours from degradation. Adjusting fill speed to minimise amount of aeration and the risk of fobbing and foaming Add the colours as late as possible when making syrup Adjust pasteurisation regimen
Composition & authenticity As the price of these raw materials increases and pressure on supply grows so food fraud becomes more of a risk. Lack of standardised extracts to bench mark against. Testing is more complex and it is not always easy to find a marker compound paradox the more natural a material the more complex it is, and so the more difficult it is to analyse.
Remedies Good relations with your suppliers Specifications Benchmarking materials to create standards, and maintaining a library of these materials. Strong Supply Quality Assurance coupled with effective sampling plans. Trade Associations like BSDA SGF schemes for fruit authenticity.
Possibilities Colours have developed from the limited range of shades and materials that used to be available. There is more knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of these materials Some of these colouring materials have nutritive properties or are associated with permitted health claims functional ingredients
Summary The colours of natural origin, whether they are pigments extracted from plants, produced by biotechnology or are concentrates of strongly coloured foods which can present challenges to product developers. But they also help to address consumer concerns about additives. They sometimes have nutritive properties and so can enhance the nutritional content of products
Conclusion Provided natural colours are treated as the unique materials that they are in a formulation, the challenges they pose are easily overcome. Pigments of natural origin or colouring foodstuffs can both help satisfy consumer concerns about synthetic additives in food. Biotechnology may prove to be the answer to issues of sustainability and consistency.
Thank you for your attention any questions?