BAKING AND SNACK, March 2005, pp.89-94
BY DONNA BERRY

The desire to improve one’s physical appearance, or simply maintain an already buff one, drives consumers to make better-for-you food choices. However, regardless of how nutritionally improved products taste, the driving force behind most food purchases is appearance.

Interestingly, colors — natural and artificial — are usually the last items on the ingredient panel of a baked food or snack but perhaps are the most important for first-time purchasers. “Color is usually one of the last considerations in many formulations,” said Owen Parker, vice-president of R&D, D.D. Williamson, Louisville, KY. With many better-for-you foods such as low-fat cookies baked chips and high-fiber breads, adding color is especially important, because the omission and/or addition of certain less healthful (fat) or more healthful (fiber) ingredients can have a deleterious effect on the finished product’s appearance.

“Unlike the role of texture or taste on food palatability, little research has been conducted on the influence of a food’s color,” said John Young, a professor at Howard University, College of Medicine, Washington, DC. Most consumers will agree that a food’s appearance not only drives purchase decision but is capable of influencing flavor perception. It can even affect satiety and overall satisfaction. “Color plays a vitally important role in the world in which we live,” noted Jill Morton, director and primary consultant at Colorcom, Honolulu, HI “Color can sway thinking, change actions and cause reactions. It can irritate or soothe your eyes, raise your blood pressure or suppress your appetite.”

Gary Blumenthal, president and c.e.o., World Perspectives, Inc., Washington DC, said, “Color and the appeal of various foods are closely related. Just the sight of food fires neurons in the hypothalamus. Subjects presented food to eat in the dark reported a critically missing element for enjoying any cuisine — the appearance of food. “For the sighted the eyes must first be convinced before a food is even tried,” continued Mr Blumenthal “This means that some food products fail in the marketplace not because of bad taste, texture or smell but because the consumer never got that far.”

Indeed, color may influence the taste of food. “Colors can be used to enhance foods, making them look like what one expects them to taste like,” said Patrick Tygh, director of R&D, Chefmaster, Garden Grove, CA. “Basically, colors make foods more appetizing.” Looks certainly help sales. “If changing the color of a food or drink can sell more product, you can be sure that the company will make the change,” added Ms. Morton.

D.D. Williamson Caramel color gives breads a good brown color, especially in low-carb breads, where developing a desirable crust color can be a challenge.

CERTIFIED COLORS
The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for regulating all color additives used in the United States. Colors are classified as either “certified” or “exempt from certification.” Certified colors are manmade and often called artificial. Food manufacturers can work with a limited number of food, drug and cosmetic (FD&C) certified colors. In fact, only seven FD&C colors — Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 — can be used. These seven colorants are specified in the Code of Federal Regulations at 21 CFR §70. 3(f).

Certified colors come as either “dyes” or “lakes.” Dyes dissolve in water and are manufactured as powders, granules, liquids or other special-purpose forms. Lakes are the water-insoluble form of the dye. Lakes are more stable than dyes and are ideal for coloring products containing fats and oils or items lacking sufficient moisture to dissolve dyes. “By far, Yellow 5 is the most commonly used dye in bakery products, particularly those formulated to be lower in fat and calories. The yellow can be added to levels where it mimics the addition of butter or eggs,” explained Mr. Tygh. “Both of the ingredients make foods appear rich and indulgent. Yellow 5 does the same thing, just without extra calories or fat grams.” [Yellow 5 is the most popular FD&C color used in baked foods becuase it mimics butter and eggs that are removed in healthier low-fat formulas. Photo courtesy of Chefmaster is not attached here.]

Karen Brimmer, group supervisor, Sensient Colors, St. Louis, MO, concurred. “Adding yellow colorant along with some flavor helps a baker maintain visual appeal without driving up calories or fat grams,” she said. “When fat is lowered, most of the time so is opacity,” Ms. Brimmer continued. “This is true for most baked and snack foods and especially true for frostings. Here’s where a little titanium dioxide can be added to produce a rich, creamy, opaque appearance.”

EXEMPT FROM CERTIFICATION
Titanium dioxide falls into the other category of colorants that FDA describes as being “exempt from certification.” Such colorants include pigments derived from natural sources such as vegetables, minerals or animals and manmade counterparts of natural derivatives. For example, caramel color is produced commercially by heating sugar and other carbohydrates under strictly controlled conditions. Colorants exempt from certification are listed in 21 CFR §70.3(g).

For the most part, formulators consider these exempt ingredients to be natural; however, from a regulatory perspective, FDA does not consider any color added to food to be natural unless the colorant is natural to the food product. For example, strawberry juice used to color dehydrated strawberries is considered natural by FDA. If beet juice is used, FDA does not consider this to be natural. Depending on the consumer, some are accepting of the fact that these exempt ingredients are about as natural as natural colors can get. Natural foods stores also concur most of the time. There are other hurdles, however, for certain diet regimes. For example, the exempt-from-certification colorant carmine, which is derived from insects, is not considered kosher, nor is it allowed in vegan diets. Consequently, many natural foods stores try to stay away from foods colored with carmine to satisfy the dietary needs of some customers. “We have had some all-natural bakery customers come to us for a carmine alternative,” said Stephen Lauro, general manager, colorMaker, Anaheim, CA. “We responded by creating a blend of vegetable and fruit juice extracts.”

NATURAL TECHNIQUES
Indeed, working with colors takes time and dedicated scientists. In recent years, technological advancements such as encapsulation have expanded the application of such so-called natural colors. Encapsulation can improve the stability and increase the brightness of some natural colors. Natural flavors can also be blended with emulsifiers, making them heat, light and pH stable in baked foods. “Bakers traditionally have used artificial colors to produce the vibrant colors that consumers have come to expect in icings and frostings,” said Mr. Lauro. “And of course, artificial colorants are not acceptable in the organic and natural foods industries. Emulsified natural color blends do not separate or produce uneven color, unlike the natural colorant alone.”

ColorMaker

Encapsulating natural colors improves their stability and increases their brightness, and they become completely soluble in fat-based systems such as icings. Lowering the carbohydrate content of organic bakery products is particularly challenging when the items are decorated, frosted or glazed. This is because one cannot use a typical sugar-based icing, because sugar is concentrated carbohydrates.

“We have identified an organic palm oil compound that remains solid at room temperature. In fact, visually, it looks just like sugar icings,” noted Mr. Lauro. “The problem is that unlike artificial colors, which can readily blend into both fat- and water-based systems, most natural colorants are water-soluble liquids. By themselves they will not dissolve in fat-based systems such as the organic palm oil compound. But using our emulsification technology, they blend right in. In fact, we have been able to produce the entire visual spectrum of color using this technology.”

Indeed, lower-carb baked products have many challenges, particularly the development of the desirable baked brown crust color. This is because that brown color comes from a nonenzymatic browning reaction involving carbohydrates and heat. “Caramel colors can help here. Even though caramel color is made from edible carbohydrates, they are complex polymers that pass through the digestive system virtually unabsorbed or metabolized,” said Mr. Parker. “Thus, caramel color can add a lot of color without many calories and without contributing much to net carb levels. In fact, the metabolic calorie content of double-strength caramel color is less than 1 Cal per g.”

Caramel color can enhance the attractiveness of many baked foods. “In cookies, very pleasing dark shades can be achieved by combining caramel color and alkali processed cocoa, providing an extra-rich appearance,” added Mr. Parker. Another way to naturally liven up better-for-you baked foods and snacks is to add colorful bits and pieces. Dehydrated fruit pieces can be made more vibrant and appetizing when they are injected with fruit extracts. The same holds true for vegetable pieces. “Red color can be injected into formed bits or inclusions, making them look like sun-dried tomatoes,” said Ms. Brimmer. “Such tomato pieces can really liven up focaccia bread and even wholewheat, higher-fiber bagels. By adding color, usage levels of more expensive flavorful ingredients can often be reduced.” It’s a win-win for the baker and the consumer.

TROUBLESHOOTER TRICKS
When fat is eliminated or reduced in carbohydrate-based snack foods, they often appear dry and dull, suggesting a lack of flavor. This can often be overcome by using intense colorants in combination with seasonings that are applied topically to crackers and chips. “A combination of Yellow 6 and Blue 1 can produce a nice barbecue color that can make lower-fat snacks look more appetizing,” said Mr. Tygh. “Baked lower-fat flat breads can be made to look like they were fried when color blends are blended into the dough,” noted Mr. Lauro. “Not only do the blends keep fat grams and calorie content low, they also eliminate the frying step, which can be very tedious in some operations. Also, using colors to provide a fried appearance results in better control over what the finished product looks like. In fact, what happens is the product becomes standardized. This is very important in chain sandwich shops.”

In today’s retail and food service marketplace, many bread items are sold frozen. They can come fully baked, parbaked or as dough. However, if colors are used, even artificial colorants, moisture migration often occurs during thawing. When this happens, colors can travel with the water, producing undesirable streaks. “One way to overcome this is to use lakes, the water-insoluble forms of FD&C dyes,” said Mr. Tygh. When formulating better-for-you baked foods and snacks, make sure color and appearance are high on your list of developmental hurdles. Because, according to Mr. Parker, we must “Always keep in mind the adage that Americans buy with their eyes.”