Manufacturers not whiter than white on food colourings

Consumers are wising up to foods that claim to be natural, yet contain colours that aren’t derived from food sources, warn experts.

“There’s a lot of pressure on manufacturers that use titanium dioxide,” said Sensient Colours UK’s, marketing manager Vincent Martin. “Lobbyists are going to ask why we’re putting it in their food.”

Titanium dioxide is commonly put in products, such as mayonnaise and chewing gum, to give a whiter appearance and is used by major food manufacturers, including Premier Foods, Cadbury and Unilever.

Martin said that gum manufacturers could take two approaches to rid their products of titanium dioxide: either make their sugar coatings more opaque, or ask their colour supplier for a solution.

Although a naturally occurring substance that’s been approved for food use by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), many consumers believe that the metal compound doesn’t belong in the human diet.

“Manufacturers could argue that titanium is natural because it is a mineral, which is part of the earth,” said Paul Collins, director of natural colours supplier GNT UK. “But it’s a stupid argument because you’re talking about food. Our definition of ‘natural’ would be a colour that comes from a recognised food and I believe consumers would probably think the same.

“I’d have thought that manufacturers would be considering whether titanium dioxide is necessary and whether there are [truly] natural alternatives.”

He added that the green colour copper chlorophyll, which can be classed as natural and is often used in jelly babies, could also gain unwelcome attention from consumer lobby groups.