Status: April 2011 1/3

Utilising one food (or food ingredient) to impart colour to another is a long standing practice for both consumers and the food industry. It has its roots in the origins of man’s relationship with, and desire for, colourful food. There are many examples, such as the golden yellow provided by using egg yolk, the whitening effect of milk, the use of cocoa to give a rich red/brown, whole ground spices with their rich variety of colour/taste and the greatest variety of all coming from nature’s wonderful array of colours in fruits and vegetables.

What are Colouring Foods?

The bountiful array of colours provided by nature’s fruits, vegetables and edible plants are undoubtedly the source of the most natural and healthy form of colour. Using traditional food processing it is possible to utilise such colourful foods to provide a vibrant and appealing colour, without resorting to the use of additive colours, in processed foods.

The concept of a Colouring Food is quite simple, using a food, processed gently using physical techniques and water as a processing media, to obtain a food concentrate which can then be used to impart colour to many different food and drink applications.

It is important to bear in mind that the colour of a food and drink (shade, stability, consistency and overall appearance) has a very significant impact on the final product and its consumer appeal. Therefore, Colouring Foods have a crucial role in the marketing of final products, and consequently the performance and consistency of a Colouring Food is a very important aspect that cannot be compromised.

eXBerrY® the PerFeCt PartnershiP BetWeen nature, teChnologY and Food aPPliCations

For many years the GNT Group has been driven by the passion and belief that the most healthy and natural approach is to use food ingredients from nature to impart colour to food and drink. Bearing in mind the importance of colour as a product attribute, GNT has many years of experience and in-house technology to process edible food raw materials to provide foods with colouring properties. Such Colouring Foods under the EXBERRY® trademark deliver a desirable and appealing colour whilst providing a clean-label solution in this respect.

The key aspects and benefits of EXBERRY® can be briefly summarised as follows:

» Produced from edible fruits, vegetables and other edible plants

» Processed with water, no organic solvents used

» Physically processed without selectively extracting the pigments

» No added artificial emulsifiers, preservatives etc.

» EXBERRY® products are food ingredients that can be eaten in their own right

» Clean label declaration to meet consumer demand

» Meet with consumer perceptions of how foods should be naturally coloured and the processing involved

Consumer understanding, aWareness and PreFerenCe

For many years there has been an increasing consumer awareness of how the food products they buy (for themselves, and in particular for their children) are coloured, with a growing tendency to avoid artificial colours. The trend is stimulated by various media publications, anecdotal evidence and the recent Southampton study report, which has resulted in a change in European labelling policy. Today, for any product containing one or more of the Southampton Six artificial colours, it is mandatory to use a warning label stating ‘may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children’ on the final product.

Colouring Foods Fact sheet

Status: April 2011 2/3

Recently the GNT Group commissioned some independent consumer research (focusing on parents with children 2 – 16 years) to investigate the level of understanding, awareness of the issues and preferences with respect to the colouration of food and drink that they purchase for themselves and their families. The research was conducted across a selection of European countries (United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) and on both a qualitative and quantitative basis.

There was remarkable consistency across the different EU countries in that consumers showed great concern regarding the type of colour used in products that they purchase. Generally they want to avoid artificial colours and other additive colours that include chemical processing or other artificial chemical (functional) components. Following clear explanation, respondents strongly agreed that Colouring Foods were the most natural and healthy way to colour food and that they would purchase on this basis in preference to foods containing additive colours.

The visibility of the actual colour used within the ingredient declaration is a key factor as indeed is any front of pack claim. For example, a ‘no artificial colours’ claim is clearly taken to imply that the colour is natural, which is frequently not the case.

The clear conclusion of this research is that consumers would make an informed choice and have preference for food and drink coloured with Colouring Food. It is important that colouring products are clearly communicated on the final product to allow consumers to exercise their choice.

Colouring Foods From a regulatorY PersPeCtive

As already mentioned there is really nothing new about Colouring Foods as a concept. The history of use of such colourful foods goes back centuries (e.g. using spinach for green pasta). In more recent times, throughout the EU, the concept of Colouring Foods has been clearly placed (and correctly so) outside of the scope of the European additives regulations.

This approach was first outlined in the Colour Directive 94/36/EC which clearly defined an additive colour as

‘substances which add or restore colour in a food, and include natural constituents of foods and natural sources which are normally not consumed as foods as such and not normally used as characteristic ingredients of food.

Preparations from foods and other natural source materials obtained by physical and/or chemical extraction resulting in a selective extraction of the pigments relative to the nutritive or aromatic constituents are colours within the meaning of this Directive’.

This definition was confirmed in 2008 within the new Regulation on food additives (EC) No 1333/2008. This clearly shows that Colouring Foods continue to be regarded in law as foods that can be used for colouring purposes, and thus remain outside of the scope of the EU additives regulations.

the laBelling oF Food and drink Containing Colouring Foods

The consumer clearly has two sources of information provided on the packaging of a product, both a front of pack message and then the detail given within the ingredient declaration.

» Front of Pack (Claims) A typical front of pack claim is ‘no artificial colours’ and clearly this states what a product does not contain, however by implication the consumers interpret this message as ‘therefore it must be natural’, very often this is not the case when certain chemically modified/extracted additive colours are used. A more positive statement such as ‘with Colouring Food’ would inform consumers more appropriately.

» Back of Pack (Ingredient Declaration) When using a Colouring Food, common practice is to label the food ingredient used with its normal name, for example ‘carrot concentrate’ which includes no information for consumers about the colouring purpose of the food ingredient. For improved consumer information EXBERRY® products manufactured by GNT are recommended to be designated as ‘Colouring Food’ within the list of ingredients, and additionally the individual colouring raw materials indicated, for example ‘Colouring Food (concentrate of carrot)’.

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aPPliCations using eXBerrY® Colouring Foods

The use of EXBERRY® Colouring Foods in food and drink applications is almost limitless. The wide array of colourful food ingredients coming from fruits, vegetables and edible plants can be used in many different applications, for example soft drinks, sugar confectionery, yoghurt, ice-cream & water ice, biscuits, snacks to name just a few.

With modern technology based on traditional processes and careful consideration given to both the EXBERRY® product and application characteristics, a vibrant and appealing colour/appearance can be achieved, with the benefit to the end consumer of using a food to colour a food.

The GNT Group has a team of technical/application experts who are on hand to provide any technical or application assistance. Within our application centres we have the capability to undertake customer projects, shelf-life assessments and can also provide regulatory advice.

For further information or to answer any queries please contact the GNT Group by visiting our website www.gnt-group.com

GNT International B.V.