Drinks sector about to enter “blue period”
Chicago Pantone L.L.C., Carlstadt, N.J., declared blue—more precisely, “classic blue”—to be the 2020 color of the year. Classic blue is a “timeless and enduring hue elegant in its simplicity,” according to the source of professional color language guidelines. It draws attention to the need for a solid and trustworthy base upon which to develop as we enter a new era.
According to Pantone, classic blue in food and beverage is symptomatic of a high anthocyanin content. Flavonoids with antioxidant properties are called anthocyanins. They have a lot of red, purple, and blue fruits. It makes sense that “classic blueberry,” which the business stated offers a sense of nostalgia, has been named the 2020 flavor of the year by Firmenich, Geneva, Switzerland.
Anthocyanins are linked to enhancing wellbeing and health, which is a quality that more and more customers look for in beverages. Drinks promoting health and wellbeing typically don’t contain any artificial components. This could be difficult in the case of blue coloring, since the conventionally recognized Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2 colors have established a benchmark for a pleasing shade. A lot of the “natural” substitutes are unstable in typical beverage systems, namely those with acidic pH levels. It takes a great deal of investigation into possible sources to get consistent natural blue colors.
Product experience marketing manager for colors at Archer Daniels Midland Co. in Cincinnati Maria Jose Alarcon stated, “Developing a blue color derived from natural sources has been a longstanding industry challenge.” The juice of the huito fruit (genipa Americana), which is imported from the Peruvian Amazon region, is the source of the industry’s exclusive and patented blue hue that is resistant to heat, light, and acid. From a natural source, the juice allows for the creation of several shades of blue, green, purple, and brown.
Huito juice is transparent when extracted. The fruit’s abundant genipin molecules solidify into a blue color when they come into contact with amino acids, polypeptides, proteins, or other compounds containing one or more primary amine groups.
Blue-green algae called spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) is used to create a variety of naturally occurring blue hues. In 2013, the Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) of the United States authorized spirulina as a color additive.
Blue phycobilin molecules and green chlorophyll are found in spirulina. To create the natural blue color, the latter is removed. Spirulina blue presents a challenge in acidic beverages, where it may fade or precipitate, despite its effectiveness in certain applications. The ideal pH range for spirulina extract to work at is 4 to 8. It cannot be utilized in high-heat processes since it also needs to be shielded from light and heat.
Huito produces a bluer product than spirulina. When combined, the two can create a variety of blues, from vivid to navy to grayish.
Sensient Colors, St. Louis, filed a petition for the use of butterfly pea flower (Clitoria ternatea) extract in October 2018, and the FDA is currently studying it. The butterfly pea flower has anthocyanin pigments, just like blueberries do. It offers a denim-blue tint above and around pH 3.8 and a bright, crisp purple shade that is perfect for low-pH grape and berry-flavored beverages.
The gardenia blue (Gardenia jasminoides) plant is the source of another shade of blue that is being examined. Its extraction and stabilization processes follow a similar scientific methodology to that of huito juice extract production.
The true value of natural blue hues lies in their ability to combine with other natural colors to produce a wider spectrum of brown shades as well as yellows, oranges, and reds. Classic blue is predicted to be quite popular in 2020.
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preserving consistency in color
Formulators need to keep in mind that consumers frequently use color to judge a product’s quality. They anticipate accuracy in flavor depiction and consistency. In order to counteract color loss that could happen throughout shelf life due to exposure to the environment, colors are frequently added.
When creating items using colors obtained from natural sources, Ms. Alarcon stated that there are many considerations to make. “Natural color sources have inherent properties like low color strength, incompatibility solubility, organoleptic impact, light, and heat instability, and tendency to oxidize that can limit their use as colorants.”
The performance of any food color can be affected by a number of variables, such as pH, packaging, base color, processing circumstances, temperature, and intended shelf life. While approved colors have been used to color items since the beginning of modern food and beverage processing, naturally generated colors may occasionally outperform them in terms of stability.
According to Christiane Lippert, head of food marketing at Lycored in Orange, New Jersey, “there is still a misconception that using a natural ingredient means that a beverage will be less stable and unable to withstand some of the tougher processing conditions during manufacturing.” “Our natural color solutions are made with beta-carotene and lycopene, which helps producers make beverage formulations with clean labels by substituting artificial components without compromising stability.
She clarified that the popularity of fruit-flavored and clean label beverages can be attributed to their better-for-you marketing. Ensuring that a beverage’s color complements its flavor is a major problem for beverage formulators.
“Our red shades, in particular, avoid the neon hues of artificial color ingredients and stay true to fruit and authentic flavor types,” the spokesperson stated. “They also perform better than many artificial shades in the demanding dairy processing conditions needed to produce beverages processed at extremely high temperatures.”
A new line of clean label red colors from Chr. Hansen, Milwaukee, is based on a proprietary sweet potato that the business developed over ten years of selective breeding using conventional, non-GMO techniques. The outcome is a red derived from plants that is a healthy substitute for artificial and carmine hues.
Nathan Morrison, an associate application specialist, stated, “They are a great replacement for Red No. 40 and have much better stability and sensory attributes than beet or radish.”
The enhanced line of liquid and powdered red hues from GNT U.S.A. Inc., Tarrytown, N.Y., now excludes sugar-containing components. According to vice president Jeannette O’Brien, they assist producers achieve shorter, cleaner ingredient lists by providing higher color intensities and containing just two raw components.
“The new reds deliver 50% more intense colors, so you can use lower dosages to get the same effect, which lowers the cost-per-use,” the representative stated.
In closing, Ms. Lippert stated, “Effective beverage colorants are essential for creating distinctive, eye-catching drinks that stand out in the market, no matter where customers take the market next. In a market where consumers are wary about artificial substances, using natural colors is a fantastic approach to increase a beverage’s consumer appeal.”