Colors with a natural appeal

By Elizabeth Fuhrman

Published November 2009 in Beverage Industry magazine.  

 Pages 48-49 ... Beverage-makers now have access to natural colors sourced globally, says Jody Renner-Nantz, a food science chemist at D.D. Williamson. For example, elderberry, which is used in many ready-to-drink beverages, is not readily available in North America, but is plentiful in Europe.

"We now have a global playing field, and we can source different ingredients at different times of the year, depending on the growing season," Renner-Nantz says.

New separation technologies also are available that allow the concentration of juices to be condensed for beverage manufacturers, "Usage rates are lower because the concentration is higher so they get more bang for their buck," Renner-Nantz says.

One external factor that has benefited natural colors is innovation in packaging, she says. Natural colors are subject to fading when exposed to light. Shrinkwraps around bottles help protect the beverage from light penetration. A larger diameter bottle shape also is preferable for natural colors because the large size allows less light to penetrate the beverage.

A greater understanding of how to improve a color's stability in a beverage by blending natural colors also has developed. For example, vegetable-based anthocyanins such as sweet potato, black carrot, red cabbage and red radish, are more light stable during storage than fruit-based anthocyanins, such as grapes, elderberry, blueberry and chokeberry, Renner-Nantz says. Vegetable-based anthocyanins tend not to brown like fruit-based anthocyanins will, she says.

"If you blended those together, you would have more of synergistic effect where you have more overall stability to hold those together," Renner-Nantz adds.

Page 51 ... D.D. Williamson is working to develop alternatives to synthetic colors, and has created naturally derived alternatives that are similar in color to Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. Last year, the company released a natural purple sweet potato color. Because the color is derived from a vegetable-based anthocyanin, it offers good stability, and based on pH, provides blue to red hues, Renner-Nantz says.

Earlier this year, D.D. Williamson introduced a natural beta-carotene alternative to nature-identical, which is chemically synthesized to mimic the natural equivalent. D.D. Williamson introduced a water-dispersible form created from a natural source. Beverages using the natural beta-carotene can state, "made with naturally derived ingredients," assuming the other ingredients qualify for the claim, the company says. Products containing nature-identical beta-carotene would not qualify for this claim. The hue of the natural beta-carotene ranges from yellow to orange depending on the concentration, Renner-Nantz says.

Early next year, D.D. WiIliamson will release a certified organic purple corn color. The vegetable-based anthocyanin provides an orange-red hue at a pH of about 3.5, the company's Barnum says.

"We're excited about this because it does give beverage manufacturers the opportunity to have a certified organic natural color that is stable in an acid beverage system," he says.