Demand for natural colours has increased by almost 35% in value terms since 2005, with average growth levels hovering around the double-digit mark until recently. During this time, natural varieties’ share of the global food colours market increased from about 31% in 2005 to 36.2% in 2009. Synthetic colours still dominate, and nature-identical colours and caramel account for $250m and $115m respectively in 2009.
In the UK, where synthetic colours account for 60% of the total $95m market, natural colours are making dramatic inroads. Consumers in the UK are now turning towards more natural food and drinks in greater numbers, according to the report, which states that the percentage of people buying products free from artificial ingredients and additives rose from 18% in 2003 to around a quarter in 2009.
The move to natural has been driven by retailers such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda, which have all removed artificial colours from their own-label ranges, with Tesco investing more than £30m to reformulate its products with natural alternatives or colouring foodstuffs.
However, challenges exist to the use of natural colours, and not least is their stability. New product innovations, therefore, have largely focused on overcoming the technical challenges posed. Antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, tocopherols and natural rosemary extract have been used to improve the stability of carotenoids such as carotene, paprika and lutein, which are susceptible to oxidation.
Many natural colour suppliers are also experimenting with blending two or more natural colours to offer specific hues for manufacturers. For example, DD Williamson now offers an orange hue by combining purple sweet potato and natural beta carotene.
For beverage manufacturers, one of the key issues has been turbidity, due to the fact that natural colours are often oil soluble, and obtaining clarity with orange and yellow colours has posed a particular challenge. Roha’s Clear Emulsion technology is one example of technology designed to overcome this issue. Using the same natural colours and combining them with innovative processes and formulation techniques delivers systems that produce natural and clear colour shades.
Wild Flavours has also developed clear emulsion-based technology that delivers water soluble, acid-stable orange and yellow colours without opacity. Micro-encapsulation and nano-entrapment are also discussed in the report, which looks at the many alternatives to synthetic colours that have already been introduced, and provides a review of the patents that have been established.
Most notably, the report highlights patents such as Wild Flavours’ method of preparing stable coloured products from edible materials, which include a gardenia blue derived from Gardenia fruit, and Unilever’s patent for its alternative to titanium dioxide as an opacifier or white colour for sauces and dressing, which is based on oil, water and a biodegradable surfactant.
Kemin Ind Inc’s patent describes the conversion of xanthophylls in plant material for use as a red and yellow food colourants.
Sensient, in the top slot, introduced a Fusion Precise Natural colour system in 2008, and also supplies a wide variety of colouring foodstuffs that range from pink and red shades to green and brown.
The world’s No 2 player is Chr Hansen, which in 2009 launched Capcolours – a range of food colours available in white, yellow, green and black – and a new violet colour based on purple carrot that was introduced as part of its colourFruit range, which is derived from fruits and vegetables. It has also been granted a patent for its ready-to-use water dispersible pigment composition containing at least 5% water by weight.
Last year, DD Williamson (in third position) introduced a natural beta-carotene as an alternative to nature-identical, with hue ranges from yellow to orange, and an acid-proof caramelised sugar flavour, which has incidental colouring properties in sauces and beverages. Earlier this year, it introduced a new acid-proof Class One dark caramel colour, called Caramel colour 520, which can be used as a colouring or a flavouring and demonstrates superior stability in acid, and is likely to be popular among beverage manufacturers.
At number four, Sethness, headquartered in the US, has supplied caramel colourings since the latter part of the 19th century, and glucose syrup is the main ingredient used within its range. Applications include:
Source: Leatherhead Food Research
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