Rising consumer awareness about the harmful side effects associated with synthetic additives & colours, the growing clean label trends as well as stringent labelling requirements in major markets are driving the demand for natural colours in the food and beverage industry.
While there are hundreds of natural compounds contributing to various shades of colours, only few of them such as anthocyanins, betalaine, carotenoids, carmine, curcumin, paprika etc are approved for food industry applications. Spirulina extract, a blue colouring agent obtained by aqueous extraction of Arthrospira platensis biomass is the more recently approved colouring agent by US FDA and EU.
The food industry categories of bakery, beverages, breakfast cereals, confectionary, dairy, plant-based meat etc. have high demand for vibrant shades of blue, green, red and yellow offering growth opportunities for natural food colours. The global food colours industry is dominated by MNCs like Sensient, GNT, Kalsec, Chr Hansen, ADM, DDW, LycoRed, Naturex. Europe is the largest market for natural food colours followed by USA.
Challenges in use of natural colours
Several global food companies had pledged to remove artificial colours from their products in last few years. While they have succeeded in removing artificial colours from most products, the shift has been gradual due to challenges such as lack of stability & vibrancy of natural colours, higher cost-in-use and compared to artificial colours, and lack of consumer demand for replacing artificial colours in brightly hued foods with duller natural colours. Natural colours also face food safety and supply chain issues such as pesticide residues, aflatoxin/ochratoxin (e.g. paprika), pathogen contamination, solvent residues, adulteration with synthetic version (e.g. curcumin). On regulatory front, standards & specifications for food colours vary across countries w.r.t. permitted food colouring additives, their dosages and colouring additives classified as ‘natural’. This lack of harmonization of standards across countries poses challenges for packaged food manufacturers to use standardised product formulations and labelling information in multiple markets.
Innovations in natural colours
Leading food colour players are focussing on extraction, formulation and delivery technologies to make the natural food colours safer, cost-efficient, more stable to heat, light and pH. Adoption of formulation and stabilization technologies like micro-encapsulation, emulsion techniques for better miscibility etc. have expanded the applications of natural colours across the food & beverages categories. Formulation technologies are also being used to make the natural colours remain fixed in product without bleeding or colour precipitation. A multipronged approach like stabilization technologies and use of novel raw materials can be adopted to address colour stability. E.g. Anthocyanin pigments are stable only at lower pH but anthocyanin pigments containing acyl group are highly stable with low sensitivity to pH changes. The acylated anthocyanins can be sourced from vegetables like black carrot, red cabbage, red radish etc. Formulation technologies like emulsification, encapsulation can also increase colour stability. Water based extraction technologies can address the solvent residue problem and meet the stringent extraction guidelines for certified organic colours.
Food Colours in India
FSSAI permits eight synthetic colours with limits to be added to specific foods namely Erythrosine, Carmoisine & Ponceau 4R (Red), Sunset yellow & Tartrazine (Yellow), Indigo carmine & Brilliant blue FCF (Blue) and Fast Green FCF (Green). Addition of inorganic colouring matters and pigments is prohibited. FSSAI approved natural colouring principles (isolated from natural colours or produced synthetically) such as Carotene & Carotenoids, Chlorophyll, Riboflavin, Caramel, Annatto, Saffron and Curcumin or turmeric can also be used in foods. The market penetration of synthetic colours is very strong in India due to lower cost-in-use and their stability. There are reports of indiscriminate use of synthetic colours and their combinations especially in the small-scale and unorganized sector. However, regulatory enforcement, increasing consumer awareness and availability of cost-effective natural colours can drive the shift away from synthetic colours to natural colours.
In Dec 2020, FSSAI introduced FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Tenth Amendment Regulations (2020), which recognised “Colouring Foods” as a separate category. ‘Colouring Foods’ are defined as product obtained from the fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs normally consumed as food or as a characteristic ingredient of food. These should be prepared by aqueous extraction without any selective extraction of pigments, retaining essential characteristics of source material’s colour, taste and odour. The new standard considers ‘Colouring Foods’ as a food ingredient in food products for the primary function of colouring as against the synthetic and natural colours which are considered additives. This is similar to the term ‘colouring foodstuff’ in Europe that is widely used for food ingredients contributing to food colouring; and classified as ingredients and not additives, without need for having E-numbers on labels. The new FSSAI standards specify the allowed sources and aqueous extraction to produce ‘Colouring Foods’ paving the way for launching products with natural and clean labels in India.
Opportunity for natural colours in India
The growing clean label trend and the recent regulatory developments provides a great opportunity for natural colours use in the growing domestic food industry. However, the higher cost-in-use of natural colours is likely to remain a major barrier especially in low margin products/ categories. Indian food colour manufacturers have great opportunity in the domestic as well as export markets by expanding their scale, range of stable colours and controlling supply chains ensuring food safe natural colours. India’s exports of food colour were valued at > 250 million USD in 2018 with significant exports to US, EU, China, Brazil & Mexico. The tropical conditions and the large production areas for fruits, vegetables, spices and herbs in India makes the availability of raw materials for natural colours at scale very easy. India is leading producer for turmeric, paprika, many fruits and vegetables and great potential for sources like Annatto, Spirulina.
Developing vertically integrated supply chains for natural food colours is critical for securing supply of raw materials, stabilizing raw materials costs, increasing crop productivity as well as ensuring quality control across the value chain. The major cost of typical natural colour is due to its raw material. Breeding varieties with higher pigment content can reduce the cost-in-use of natural colours by reducing the raw material required for extraction/ reducing the usage levels. Curcumin content in Indian turmeric varieties is lesser than in turmeric from Southeast Asian nations, forcing many extraction players to import turmeric for blending. Breeding hybrids (like paprika) with different shades can provide opportunities to launch unique shades of natural colours. Indian food colour manufacturers can partner with research organizations/ private seed companies to develop varieties/ hybrids with unique colours and higher pigment content. Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of food safety risks, food frauds, climate change and sustainability. Vertical integration can provide competitive advantage to Indian food colour suppliers by providing opportunity to demonstrate traceability, transparency and sustainability measures deployed in supply chain and help them acquire customers in key markets. Opportunities can be explored to extract natural colours from by-products or waste from processing industry such as peels of fruits and position the sustainable production of such natural colours as upcycled colours. The global growth in certified organic foods presents a great opportunity for Indian food colour manufacturers to offer a full range of certified organic colours. Apart from sourcing organically grown raw materials, the extraction process and processing aids may need to be modified for some colours considering stringent extraction guidelines for organic certification.
Summary
Development of cost-effective natural colours, adoption of formulation technologies to address stability challenges and the development of value chains for natural food colours will create opportunities for the expansion of natural food colours market in India. Harmonization of the labelling requirements for natural colours will also help the food manufacturers in marketing their products easily across the geographies.
Dr KV Satyanarayana, Food Processing practice lead, Sathguru Management Consultants