Baking & Snack - July 2021 - 48

COLORS
'Natural' is all in the regulations for colors
While colloquially those in the baking industry may use
the term " natural colors " to describe those color ingredients
derived from plants and insects, this term is not
approved by the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
This is largely because the FDA has not defined the term
natural, and ingredients like strawberries and chocolate
that could contribute color aren't considered color additives,
the ingredients the FDA refers to in Title 21 of the
CFR, parts 70-82.
The FDA separates color additives into two categories:
certified colors (FD&C) or exempt from certification colors,
which are those that are so commonly referred to as
natural colors. Exempt colors are typically sourced from
plants or minerals and comply with identity and purity
specifications. Getting colors added to the list is also challenging.
Unlike other ingredients, there is not a generally
recognized as safe exemption to color additives. Adding
new colors requires a petition to the FDA for approval
with evidence of its safety. These kinds of studies can take
two years.
" It's hard to justify because colors is just a small market, "
said Jeff Greaves, Eastern US and international sales,
Food Ingredient Solutions.
Regulations are often changing, too. Just this year, the
European Food Safety Authority issued a scientific opinion
that titanium oxide is no longer considered safe as a food
additive. This naturally occurring mineral plays a big part
in the food industry as a go-to for whitening. While this
scientific opinion does not amount to a ban of the additive,
it does raise concerns in the food industry around
removing the additive from formulations.
" The whitening from titanium dioxide gives the brightness
and opacity you're looking for in a purely white
icing, " said Emina Goodman, senior director, commercial
color development, ADM. " But now we have customers
wanting to remove that, so we have a variety of options to
replace that whitening agent. "
48 Baking & Snack July 2021 / www.bakingbusiness.com
New sources and technology for creating exempt colors has given
formulators options that provide more stability.
ADM
" When you work with natural colors, there's a broader
range, " said Emina Goodman, senior director, commercial
color development, ADM. " For example, in synthetic colors
for yellow, you have Yellow No. 5. If you want to look at
natural and botanical options for yellow, you have safflower,
turmeric, beta-carotene and annatto. The challenge isn't
that they aren't stable. The challenge is choosing the right
color for the right system. "
Finding that appropriate color source requires understanding
the application's needs from processing to display
as well as the different natural options available.
A reliable hue
The main challenge formulators face with exempt colors is
their stability: their ability to remain vibrant and consistent
through processing and the product's shelf life. Heat, light
and even fat content can all impact stability, but it's based
on the color and the formulation's pH. Any tip in a color's
pH, and the hue can change, either by a little or a lot.
" Our first question when working on a new project is
'what is the pH?' " Ms. Goodman explained, highlighting
its importance. " Some botanicals naturally become very
unstable when you shift the pH, so that is a key component. "
And this is where the exempt colors come into play. Not
all colors behave the same, making certain raw material
sources or color hues better suited to certain applications.
" A lot of colors in the pink to purple range come from
anthocyanins, which are pH sensitive and can change color
based on pH, " explained Alice Lee, applications manager,
GNT. " In the bakery and snack space, applications can have
a higher pH than other food categories. With a yeasted
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