Colorants are applied in a broad range of products that impact our lives. With up to 85% of consumer buying decisions potentially influenced by color, appropriate application of color is critical to product selection and experience. Color additives are defined by the FDA as any dye, pigment or other substance that can impart color to a food, drug or cosmetic or to the human body. Under current regulations, color additives fall into two categories: Those subject to the FDA’s certification process, and those that are exempt. Certified colors include FD&C lakes and dyes commonly seen in many food and beverage products. Recently, a growing consumer interest in “natural colors” has led to a broad application of plant extracts and other materials as “exempt” colorants in foods and beverages. From a quality and safety perspective, the certification process for FD&C lakes and dyes includes a high level of quality control and safety evaluation to certify these additives. The FD&C lakes and dyes are synthetically produced which allows for a highly consistent and reproducible end color. However, for “natural sources” there is a general lack of product definitions or publicly available purity, quality and safety specifications that are consistently applied. This can lead to a wide range of challenges in formulating for consistency, stability and quality. Factors such as light, heat in processing and shelf life can cause a wide variation in the sensory performance of the product that ends up on the store shelves. The risk of adulteration and contamination across the field of natural products ranges from plant sourcing and product labeling to product claims. To address the pressing needs for consistent standards for generation and application of colors from natural sources, a panel with expertise in plant biology, food chemistry, food toxicology, food product development and manufacturing as well as food quality and regulatory affairs was convened from December 2012 to September 2014. The focus of this talk is to highlight the expanding use of natural colors in the food industry and discuss key quality attributes and potential safety hazards affecting sourcing and use of food colorants from natural sources.

Chemistry and challenges in using natural sourced colors exempt from FDA certification

254th National Meeting (2017)

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