The choice of a natural red colorant is not just about getting the redness that is the strongest. The formulation, processing conditions, product appearance and storage conditions are factors that food manufacturers must take into account when selecting a suitable source. Acidity, heat, light and other formulation factors can have a different effect on different natural color ingredients. The characteristics of these can be compared to help product developers select a red color solution for a given food application.
Start With the Food Application
The first thing to do is to determine what the color is going to be used for. Each of the beverages, confectionery, dairy products, bakery foods, sauces, desserts and snacks can pose a different need for a coloring ingredient.
Examples include good dispersion in a liquid system or heating and/or concentrated sugar systems in the case of a confectionery product. In addition to baking, there is the possibility of additional heat exposure in a bakery application.
Prior to comparison, the food matrix should be understood first to make it easier to do a comparison.
Natural Red Food Color Sources
There are a number of ingredients from plants that can give natural red food color, pink or reddish-purple color, such as beetroot-derived colors, red cabbage concentrates, black carrot concentrates, anthocyanin-rich fruit sources and other botanical sources.
The final shade may be different depending on the source, concentration, formulation and processing environment. It is possible that two ingredients that look alike in a concentrated product are very different in the finished product.
Therefore, it is important that manufacturers check the ingredients in the sample that is used for the actual application and not just in the catalog sample.
Consider Red Cabbage Concentrate
One plant source that can be used for color is red cabbage concentrate, which contains naturally occurring anthocyanin pigments. Depending on the condition of the formulation, these pigments will give red, purple and related colors.
When using colors based on anthocyanins, the pH may be especially significant because the response of the pigment may vary with the acidity. Manufacturers should thus test the ingredient under the pH conditions of the final product.
It is important to test the application of the color when deciding if it is suitable for a specific formulation, if it is derived from red cabbage.
Compare Color Stability
One of the most significant factors to consider for assessing natural red color ingredients is their stability. The final appearance may be affected by heat, light, oxygen, pH, processing time and interactions with other ingredients.
The significance of each factor will vary from product to product. A refrigerated dessert might need a different stability to a baked snack or shelf-stable beverage.
Processing and storage conditions should be reproduced during trials by the manufacturer for important conditions. It may be misleading to base your final color assessment only soon after mixing, as this may not give you a reliable indication of how the color will perform over time.
Evaluate Dosage and Color Strength
It is also important to take into account the strength of the color of the ingredients in comparison. Some color preparations may be able to be used at a lower percentage to obtain the same results as another highly concentrated color preparation.
But it is not recommended to determine dosage without reference to the final product. The increase of a particular ingredient does not always yield the same effect in various food matrices.
Practical dosage levels should be tested, along with the shade, appearance and formulation behavior of the product, and this data should be recorded by the product developer. This provides a better platform for evaluating options.
Match the Physical Format
Natural red colors can be in powder, liquid, extract, concentrate or other special forms. Depending on the manufacturing process and physical properties of the product, a suitable format is to be chosen.
Powders might be effective for some dry systems, and liquid preparations might be easier to use in some wet systems. Before deciding on a format, manufacturers should check the dispersion, solubility, handling, storage and compatibility of the product.
The chosen format should facilitate efficient embedding in a hassle-free manner.
Use Application Trials Before Selection
A real-world comparison could be done by comparing side-by-side. Manufacturers are able to test a number of natural red color sources for the same formulation, dosage range, processing conditions and storage period.
Some observations of value are final shade, color uniformity, processing response, processing storage appearance, and overall compatibility with food matrix.
This way, the product developer can choose the product that works well in the application instead of just picking a product with a good name or for its concentrated color.
Conclusion
It’s important to consider more than just color when it comes to comparing natural red food color sources. The food matrix, characteristics of the pigment, its pH, processing conditions, stability, dosage, physical format and storage conditions are some of the factors that manufacturers must take into account before approving an ingredient. Application trials can be used to narrow down the choices in the most appropriate application for a specific product. FoodRGB.com offers a variety of solutions for businesses creating naturally colored foods and provides a chance to connect with a food technical partner who has a vested interest in helping achieve the desired application goals.