The following excerpt is reprinted with permission from Food and Business News, magazine, “Ingredient Products and Trends”, page 27, January 8, 2008.

By Jeff Gelski

Colors extracted from fruits or vegetables may allow processed foods or beverages to sport a cleaner label. Color suppliers are introducing products to meet this demand, although the Food and Drug Administration provides no definition for natural colors.

Selecting such natural-sounding colors for formulations may present challenges. Synthetic colors tend to have a longer shelf life than colors extracted from such sources as fruits or vegetables, said Campbell Barnum, global vice-president, sales and marketing, for D.D. Williamson, Louisville, KY.

In 2007, D.D. Williamson launched a stabilized elderberry color with a longer shelf life than a traditional elderberry color. Juice blends and salad dressings are potential applications for the stabilized elderberry color. This year, D.D. Williamson plans to introduce a purple sweet potato color and a stabilized red cabbage color.

Besides adding natural color options, D.D. Williamson wants to increase the capabilities of those colors and let its customers know how to select colors based on their use in a specific food system, said Margaret A. Lawson, vice-president of science and innovation.

Food and beverage formulators still must determine what makes a color a natural color. D.D. Williamson defines natural colors as those derived from agricultural, biological or mineral sources extracted with a simple process and having a long history of safe use. Non-synthetic colors tend to fall under the F.D.A.’s list of colors that are “exempt from certification.” They include pigments derived from natural sources such as vegetables, minerals…