Consumer and food industry demand, as well as changes in regulations have helped drive interest in naturally-derived colorants to replace synthetic ones. This presentation reviewed major biological and environmental sources of natural colorants. The chemical characteristics of anthocyanins, betalains, carotenoids and chlorophylls were discussed as they relate to their color expression in food matrices. Summarized, were some of the challenges manufacturers face on their efforts to switch to colorants from natural sources as well as possible ways to overcome those challenges and facilitate this transition on food applications. An update on current research into these areas was also provided.
M. Mónica Giusti, Ph.D., Professor, Dept. Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University speaking on “Clean Label Colorants” at the 2018 Clean Label Conference.
