There has always been an attraction towards coloured foods.

A Roman saying goes that people "eat with their eyes" as much as with their palates. Since ancient civilisations, spices such as saffron have often been used to provide a rich colour to various foods.

But what are food colour additives?
Technically speaking, a colour additive is any dye, pigment or substance that can impart colour when added or applied to food. Food colours are used in virtually every food product, be it dairy, confectionery, beverages, bakery and even cereals.

Why Use Colour Additives?
Though there is a growing realisation that colour additives should be used sparingly, the fact is that some foods don't look presentable without it and appear inedible. Colours are used to bring a variation to preserved food and maintain the natural appeal.

Other uses include:
To preserve colour loss due to exposure environmental extremes
To correct natural variations in colour
To enhance colours that occur naturally
To provide a colourful identity to foods
To protect flavours and vitamins that may be affected by sunlight during storage

Food colours used today are both synthetic and natural. Irrespective of the source (natural or synthetic), colours have to be certified for their safety prior to being added to any food. For commercial purposes, artificial colours are usually preferred as they are more stable, provide better colour uniformity, have a lower cost in use, and blend together easily.

Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins (E163) are the mainly red pigments that are responsible for the colours of many edible fruits and berries. Anthocyanins are particularly recommended for the colouring of soft drinks, jams, most types of sugar confectionery and other acidic products such as fruit toppings and sauces. They also contribute to the colours of some vegetables and flowers.

The majority of anthocyanins provide red and purple shades. Anthocyanins are water-soluble and convenient to use. Stability to heat and light is generally good, especially grapeskin extracts. Changes in pH affect their shade and stability and, in general, they are used in products in which the pH is below 5.0. Phytone note that dairy companies are increasingly using anthocyanins in berry flavoured yoghurt systems.

Available in both liquid and powder forms, the Phytone range of anthocyanins is versatile and easy to use.


Beetroot Red
Beetroot Red (E162) is obtained from red table beet. It is freely soluble in water and provides an intense red colour that is convenient to use. It has limited stability to heat, light and sulphur dioxide and its shelf life in finished products may be partially determined by the water activity of the system in which it is used. Specially formulated products are available from Phytone that protect beetroot red from some of these limitations.

Using liquid or powder preparations, a wide range of products can be coloured with this material. Short shelf life, low moisture or frozen products such as flavoured milks, yoghurts, dry dessert mixes and ice-creams may all benefit from the use of this intense, bright red colourant.


Carmine
Cochineal, Carminic Acid, Carmine (E120).
Carmine has a long history as a food colour. It is obtained from the female Coccus cacti beetle (right, on a cactus plant). Preparation of the carmine pigment is achieved by the formation of the aluminium lake of carminic acid.

Carmine provides a bight strawberry red shade. It is chemically a very stable colour and is unaffected by oxygen, light, sulphur dioxide, heat and water activity. It may precipitate under low pH conditions and concentrated blends of carmine with strongly acidic ingredients should be avoided.

Carminic acid is a water-soluble pigment that is stable in acidic conditions under which it provides an orange shade. Its chemical stability is similar to that of carmine.

Cochineal and its derivatives are widely used throughout the food industry. Both liquid and powder preparations are available to colour beverages, table jellies, sugar confectionery, yoghurts, flavoured milks, meat products, flour confectionary, pickles and sauces.


Annatto
Annatto (E160(b)).
The seeds of the annatto bush have long been recognised by some cultures to bring colour and flavour to the diet. Annatto seeds provide two pigments: bixin, which is oil soluble and norbixin, which is soluble in water. Both pigments are cartenoids and may, therefore, be adversely affected by light and oxygen. In extreme cases, it is helpful to protect sensitive products using ascorbic acid.

Please note that there are restricted usage levels and applications for annatto. Please refer to Standard 1.3.1, Schedule 1 of the Food Standards.

Norbixin is sensitive to sulphur dioxide at levels in excess of 100ppm, whereas hard water or low pH conditions can lead to pigment precipitation unless specially formulated products are used. These pigments are heat stable and provide an orange hue. They are frequently offered as blends with other pigments, especially curcumin, to ensure that precise yellow/orange shades are achieved. Traditionally, the main use of norbixin has been in cheese colourations, but it is used in a much wider variety of applications including breadcrumbs, flour confectionery, dairy products and ice-cream.

Available in both liquid and powder forms, it is a colouring with wide application.

The oil-soluble pigment, bixin is used in cream fillings for biscuits, snack foods, margarines, low-fat spreads and other fat-based systems.


Carotene
Carotene is principally extracted from edible vegetable sources. It is one of several hundred carotenoids that are found occurring naturally and is distributed very widely. Nutritionally, it is valuable as vitamin A and has always played a significant role in the diet.

Under European classification, Beta Carotene E160(A) is divided into two groups, Mixed carotenes from both plant and algal origin, and Beta Carotene, made either by chemical synthesis or by fermentation from Blakeslea trispora.

Many staple foods, such as fruits, vegetables and diary products, contain ß-Carotene in nutritionally significant amounts. This pigment is soluble in oil but is also available in specially formulated water-dispersible forms to provide orange/yellow shades. Its chemical properties reflect is carotenoid structure in that it is stable to heat, pH and sulphur dioxide. Instability to light and oxygen may be overcome in some applications by its protection with ascorbic acid.

The Phytone range of ß-Carotene products consists of both liquid and powder preparations that may be used in flour and sugar confectionery, beverages, pickles, sauces, salad dressings, jams and dairy products.


Paprika
Paprika (E160(c)) is obtained from sweet red peppers using a solvent extraction process to prepare an oleoresin. Paprika is well recognised as a spice and it is a popular ingredient in many recipes. The extract principally contains two carotenoid pigments: capsanthin and capsorubin. Both pigments are oil soluble and provide a rich orange/red hue depending upon the concentration used.

When used for colouring purposes, paprika extracts invariably contribute a spicy flavour character and they are generally more suited to either savoury or lightly coloured products. Although sensitive to oxidation, these pigments are stable to heat and are unaffected by changes of pH.

Available in both liquid and powder forms, the Phytone range consists of both oil-soluble and water-dispersible products. They are important ingredients used in soups, pickles, meat products, sauces, breadcrumbs and snack seasonings.


Curcumin
Curcumin (E100) is the principle pigment of turmeric, a spice obtained from the rhizomes of Curcuma longa. As the spice turmeric, curcumin has been a component of the diet for many years. Obtained by extraction from the plant to produce an oleoresin, which is then purified, curcumin provides a bright, strong yellow shade in solution. It is an oil soluble pigment that is available in convenient, water-dispersible forms that are used in a wide range of foods.

Curcumin is extremely heat-stable and may generally be used in products throughout the acid pH range. It is sensitive to sulphur dioxide at levels in excess of 100 ppm and shows poor stability when exposed to light.

Within the Phytone range, curcumin is available in liquid or powder preparations, singly and in combination with other pigments, expanding the range of shades available. It may be used in a variety of applications including ice-creams, sorbets, dairy products, dry mixes and some types of sugar confectionery products.


Chlorophylls
Phytone is one of the world’s largest suppliers of chlorophyll (E140). This green colour is mainly extracted from grass and lucerne (alfalfa) that is grown especially for chlorophyll production in Lincolnshire in the United Kingdom.

Chlorophyll is naturally oil-soluble and provides a green colour. Alkaline hydrolysis of chlorophyll produces water-soluble chlorophyllin. Copper chlorophyll and copper chlorophyllin provide a much brighter green colour than the uncoppered product. These complexes are produced by the coppering of chlorophyll and chlorophyllin respectively - to yield more stable complexes with greater tinctorial strength.

Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins (E140) and copper complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllins (E141) can be used in a wide range of applications including drinks, ice cream, ice lollies, sugar confectionary, sauces, pickles and Sage Derby cheese.
Curcumin can be used with these colours to provide a lime green shade.


More Colours
Other colour suppliers and products available from HWA are:


Astaxanthin - Natural micro algae product ex Cyanotech Corporation. (added to fish feed to give colour to salmon flesh)

Caramelised Sugars - A range of syrups and powders from Felix Koch Offenbach (FKO), that are used to give both flavour and colour.

Oleoresins - Including Paprika 40,000 & 100,000 CU, Ginger, Black Pepper, Chilli and more, from Egy-Flowers.

We can also offer “Non speck” colours, which will readily dissolve with even colour dispersion. These colours are often used in instant desserts and sauces.

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