Recently, I was shopping in my local grocery store and saw a package of organic graham crackers targeted to children. There were many colors in the pack – blueish-purple, orange, yellow and red. This got me thinking – how can an organic product be such a nice shade of purple?
Organic or Non-Organic? Rules and Regulations
The majority of the coloring materials for organic products are already common to most people, such as organic juice extract colors like blueberry (EU) and purple carrot (EU), or organic spices for color like paprika (EU) and turmeric (EU). These raw materials can be certified organic.
In the U.S., there are also provisions for use of non-organic colors. 7 CFR 205.606 (d) designates certain non-organically produced colors derived from agricultural products that may be allowed in products labeled as organic, provided they are compliant with organic restrictions and no organic form is commercially available. These non-organic colorants are various spice and fruit/vegetable-based extract colors.
In the EU, food-based colors are more prevalent and commonplace in non-organic foods, so consumers are more likely to expect these types of colors. Country-specific organic regulations should be reviewed as they may impact your choice of ingredient. Your certifying agent should be consulted for clarification.
Is that organic color stable? What do I need to watch out for?
Some colors are impacted by thermal treatment, pH, shelf life and packaging conditions. Let’s explore these factors in more depth now:
Thermal treatment: When creating extruded cereals, some organic colors may fade when exposed to heat processing. But others, like annatto (EU), may be able to survive the extensive heat application. Consider adding the color to the coating used on the cereal, if applicable. It would be exposed to less heat when added in this fashion.
pH and Solubility: An example of color change is the difference in pH between milk drinks and yogurts. Milk with the higher pH may change the color of a red-based extract to a blue-purple hue, but will create a pink color in yogurt. Purple carrot can produce a purple color in acid free candies, but in acidified candies it makes a dark pink strawberry or watermelon color. Anthocyanins (EU) present in these colors change as product pH changes. In high acid environments the color is red, but progresses from blue-red to a blueish-purple hue as the environment changes to a more neutral pH.
While beta-carotene (EU) has good heat and light stability, it is insoluble in water-based beverages and will produce a colored “ring” at the top of the beverage over time if not properly emulsified with an organic starch. This need for starch will impact clarity of the beverage, which may not be appropriate for the end use product.
Shelf Life and Packaging Conditions: Stability testing of a finished product is a must. Formulators should look for and measure color changes over the shelf life and determine how much is acceptable for their product. Even though suppliers have worked hard to overcome stability over the finished product shelf life, colors from natural extracts like these are a challenge to maintain consistently, even in the most ideal conditions.
A rule of thumb to remember is that more coloring ingredients may not necessarily make a brighter color, but may make a darker color. The inclusion of antioxidants may help reduce or slow a light-induced fading effect of the final product color, as will using solid opaque packaging that does not include a clear section for UV exposure.
True colors?
Those crackers I mentioned at the beginning – it turns out they used a combination of beet (EU), blueberry, carrot (EU) and paprika (EU) extracts to create the color differences from piece to piece. The package was an opaque, foil-lined pouch. It turns out that the blueish-purple color of the cracker represented on the package was not the same as the actual product color, which looked more blue.
Many precautions were taken by the manufacturer to keep the color stable over time, as seen in their packaging, but the blue color still showed signs of change. The organic consumer may be more tolerant of product variation, but some may perceive the inconsistency in color as a defect. Research into consumer acceptability over the shelf life of the product may be vital for your product’s success.
Look for upcoming articles on beet and beta-carotene as colorants in the near future.
Additional Resources:
European Commission – Guidance on Food Extracts with Colouring Properties
US Electronic Code of Federal Regulations – USDA National Organic Program List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances
CCOF – EU exports and imports guidance and organic standards equivalency arrangement
Food Product Design – Maintaining Color Stability
Food Product Design – Natural Food Colors
Food Processing – Ingredient Manufacturers Meeting Demands of Visually Appealing Natural Organic Colors
louisbolk.org – IFT – Organic Food Claims in Europe
Natural Food Colours Association
Beverage Industry Magazine – Color Moves to Natural and Organic
Chemical & Engineering News – Coloring Food, Naturally
Organic Color Suppliers (EU) from ULProspector
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