A natural solution?

Savvy consumers and major retailers have forced a step change in the food-colours market over the last few years in response to negative publicity targeting synthetically produced colours and nature identical colours.

Consumers, in their wisdom, have decided they are no longer prepared to put up with synthetic colours when natural alternatives are accessible and, likewise, retailers have been all too happy to champion this cause by pressurising food manufacturers to come up with the goods.

The ability to use the term 'natural' on packaging has also become increasingly important to retailers and food manufacturers and, as a result, the use of naturally derived colours dominates the market where such extracts provide good colouration, such as yellow and orange.

In addition, ethical concerns have prompted manufacturers to seek alternatives such as carmine, which produces a red hue and is derived from the cochineal insect, in favour of more universally accepted sources. Dr Andrew Kendrick, head of technical for ROHA's natural foodstuffs range Natracol, explains: "While carmine derived from the cochineal insect is accepted as a natural colour for ready use across Europe, this is not the current case in the UK.

"The problems that carmine presents in the UK are that it is seen as being chemically modified and, therefore, not strictly natural, and it is not suitable for vegetarians or for kosher products. Carmine-based colours are, therefore, being replaced with anthocyanins and beetroot-based colours instead."

This trend is spreading throughout Europe and across the Atlantic to the US where the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a ban on insect-derived colours. "Recently, carmine and cochineal extracts have come under the scrutiny of the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)," confirms Udi Alroy, marketing director of natural carotenoid supplier, LycoRed. "The CSPI has petitioned the FDA to either ban these colorants or to require their presence in a food be declared on the label, following reports from physicians in the US and Europe indicating they can cause severe allergic reactions. Support for such action also comes from vegetarians and those who observe dietary restrictions that prohibit eating insects."

According to research carried out by market researcher RTS Resource, natural colours accounted for ?106M of Europe's ?240M market in 2005. Md Steve Rice says: "Since 2000, while the actual usage of all colours has been growing by an average of 0.9% per year, natural colours usage has grown by an average of 1.6% per year. In contrast, usage of synthetic colours has hardly grown at all in the last five years. Pressure from consumer groups, retailers, and the industry has forced manufacturers to replace synthetics with naturals, where possible. However, for reasons of stability and process tolerance, there are still many cases where synthetics remain the ingredients of choice."

synthetic colours preferred

In certain circumstances, synthetic colours are still preferable to natural alternatives, agrees ROHA md Giles Drewitt. "They are cheaper to produce and are therefore often used in low cost food, drink and confectionery, in limited amounts. The decision to use synthetic colours is largely down to the expectation of end users; there are still plenty of markets that aren't concerned whether food colours are natural or artificial. However, nowadays there are not many new products in the EU that contain synthetic colours."

Functional properties have clearly played their part in the rising fortunes of natural colours. The health benefits of many colours have been extensively publicised in the media, which has raised awareness among consumers, and retailers. Lycopene - found in tomato ketchup, for example - is probably the most familiar 'functional' colour known to consumers but there are other natural carotenoids on the market. Carotene, for example, derived from palm, olives and carrots, which is said to prevent night blindness, and lutein, extracted from marigold petals, which protects the eyes and can reduce the risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), have also been the subject of media attention.

Manufacturers have used 'functional' terms on packaging to promote products, although such claims are limited under strict EU legislation. Dr Kendrick explains: "There is plenty of scientific data on the benefits of phytonutrients - active ingredients present in natural colours - but it is often based on work in vitro and has not been tested in human clinical trials to validate health benefits. An additional complication that has to be addressed is the impact of the food matrix that the phytonutrient would be delivered in. Potentially an interaction with another component of the food could impede the uptake by the body of the health-giving nutrient."

Though they are widely used throughout the EU, natural colours in food are often unstable and colour saturation can be inconsistent. However, manufacturers are tackling both of these problems. Alroy explains that LycoRed, for example, has developed technologies to formulate and stabilise natural lycopene - a phytonutrient found in tomatoes that is said to help prevent prostate cancer. He says: "Manufacturers are generally limited by the colours that can be obtained, cost effectively, from nature sources. Natural colours are more expensive to produce. Factors such as seasonality, storage and harvesting must be factored into the cost of production. These are not factors in the production of synthetics."

Similarly, ROHA has invested heavily in technology to make natural colours more stable. Dr Kendrick says: "Natural colours have been the subject of much work by companies who specialise in food colours. The key advance in the field of natural colours has been to ensure that the natural vibrancy of source ingredients such as paprika, turmeric and a number of fruits and vegetables, is transferred into the final food product. ROHA has developed acid stable formulations for annatto and carmine, stabilised formulations of carotene and paprika using synergistic antioxidant cocktails and a range of blended anthocyanin-based products to give a complete range of crystal clear red shades."

Either way, demand for natural colours is likely to continue. RTS predicts the synthetic colours market will remain static for the next five years, at around ?130M in real terms, while naturals are forecast to grow by an average of 1.6% per year to reach ?115M by 2010.

innovations will continue

Dr Kendrick believes there is plenty of innovation to come, including the steady removal of synthetic colours from products and the continued dominance of natural colours in new products. "There will be continued innovations to increase the process and storage stability of natural colours. I, personally, do not think colouring foodstuffs will completely replace natural colours but will find an established place alongside natural colours.

"The main challenges that food ingredient suppliers such as ROHA face are to ensure that the unexplored ingredients pass through the necessary legislation such as that in place for so-called novel foods - that is, foods and food ingredients that are relatively new to the human food chain.

"Such legislation is essential to protect consumers from unexpected effects that such new raw materials may bring. The search for, and full safety qualification of, potentially exciting new raw materials is very expensive.

"In reality this will prevent such work from being completed by all but the most resourceful pharmaceutical companies."