Nothing to declare

First it was the Co-op Group, then M&S. As more retailers jump on the 'additive-free' bandwagon, Rebecca Green looks at the challenges facing colour producers

Gone are the days when consumers plucked products from the shelves without so much as a glance at the ingredients list. Now, thanks in part to some sensationalist media scares, packs are scrutinised and additives shunned, with E numbers often coming top of the hit list.

Accordingly, over the past 10 to 20 years, there has been a transition in the colours market, with a move away from synthetics: first to nature identical colours (the same structure as occurs in nature, but made using synthesis); then to natural colours (derived from natural products but seen as additives and listed as E numbers because the pigment is specifically concentrated). Now the market has taken another turn, this time towards colouring foodstuffs - also from food but processed to retain the characteristics of the original food in a concentrated form (think cherry juice and tomato puree).

The reason these colours are taking precedent over their natural counterparts is because they are listed on labels as ingredients rather than E numbers, making them ideal for products with a clean label declaration.

And with consumers' perception of E numbers as 'nasties' unlikely to change in the near future (even though the term is merely a classification), the colouring foodstuffs trend looks here to stay. Research by Frost and Sullivan shows that the colouring foodstuffs market is growing at an estimated 10-15%, driven by consumer interest in natural products. In contrast, the synthetic/natural colouring market is expected to remain static for the period 2001-2008.

It follows that last year the Co-operative Group banned 12 colourings from its own label range, all of which are legally permitted, including Sunset Yellow (E110), Tartrazine (E102) and Quinoline Yellow (E104), bringing the total number banned to 21 - a move it says is in direct response to consumer concerns. Similarly, last October, Marks & Spencer removed all artificial flavourings and colourings from its chilled ready meals.

Paul Collins, director of international colour company GNT UK, believes colouring foodstuffs are the healthiest way of colouring food, being exclusively produced from fruits, vegetables and other edible plants. Crucially, they are also free from 'additives within additives', as Collins explains: "If you take a natural colour, which is an additive, quite often the colour itself contains other components, known as additives within additives. For instance, a colour that's not water soluble may have added emulsifier."

Collins expects this to become more important as labelling regulations change. "At the moment labelling doesn't require that you include additives within additives," he says, "but as things get more difficult, which in the European Union will almost certainly be the case, you will undoubtedly have to start including them, making it preferable not to have them there in the first place."

GNT UK has avoided additives in its increasingly popular Exberry range of colouring foodstuffs, which are processed using only water and can be listed as ingredients. The range is formed from a wide range of raw materials, including elderberries, red cabbage, carrots, pumpkins, aronia berries, grapes and tomatoes.

According to Collins, there are two crucial elements that distinguish natural colours from colouring foodstuffs - the origin of the raw material, and the nature of the processing. The process by which the orange colour (carotene or E160A) is extracted from carrots, for instance, is selective, even though the raw material is natural. But in a colouring foodstuff the colour extract is a concentrate, not selectively processed.

The problem consumers have with natural colours, says Collins, is that the natural source isn't necessarily accepted as a food. "Cochineal, for instance, is derived from an insect. Consumers naturally think, 'why is the food industry putting insect juice in the food we give our babies?' These are the concerns the industry is having to deal with, which is why we are trying to make our products healthier."

That's all very well, but colours are put into food for a reason - we eat with our eyes, therefore a product that is healthy and natural but colourless, simply wouldn't sell.

According to ingredients firm Overseal, this presents a number of challenges; namely how to deliver an ingredients system where the stability and vibrancy of the colour in application are as good as the standards set by traditional natural colouring systems. "It is important that colouring foodstuffs have the same processing stability to enable their substitution into existing bulk manufactured products with minimum reformulation requirement by the manufacturer," says Justine Lord, Overseal's market development manager.

"But some will be less stable than others, so you have to approach development in a slightly different way."

Some of the brighter colours can also be more difficult to achieve says Lord, although good shades are available and look more natural. Indeed, Overseal has re-developed and re-launched its Colouring Foodstuff Wheel, which offers the same full spectrum of colours as the natural range, but is based on natural fruit and vegetable sources.

However, as Collins points out, at the moment there is still a technological barrier that is preventing a complete move to clean label products. "While colouring foodstuffs perform in some mainstream products like ice cream, cereals and drinks; in others, such as niche products, anything heavily heat processed, in transparent packaging or with a long shelf-life, they won't." He adds: "Of course, there will always be situations where only synthetic colours will work, which determines the market for synthetics."

Marketing manager at ingredients supplier Chr Hansen Luc Ganivet believes the general health trend will continue to be significant for the colours industry, as consumers become increasingly aware of their ability to influence their health with functional foods - an area that now includes colour. "Natural colour pigments have only recently been recognised for their health effects," says Ganivet.

"Natural carotenoids, including carotenes, lutein and lycopene have been recognised as antioxidants linked to the prevention of degenerative diseases."

And there is still room for improvement within the formulation and processing of existing pigments, he says, including further development of microencapsulation as well as looking for new pigment sources.

"One of the challenges of developing a new colour formulation is the long and expensive safety testing and regulatory approval process," says Ganivet. "Therefore, un-tapped sources of raw materials conforming to current regulations provide a potential for the development of new colour products. Recent examples are: purple carrot and red cabbage."

Part of the evolution of the market, adds Collins, will be getting better performance without changing the molecular structure of the food. FM

KEY CONTACTSChr Hansen 01488 689823GNT Uk 0845 456 6460Overseal 01283 224221