Tech firms look for natural food colours

French agency Fermentalg has been everywhere in the planet in its seek for helpful microalgae.

“Certainly one of our fortunate scientists acquired to go and climb the volcanoes within the Caribbean for instance, and I’ve to restrain myself from accumulating extra each time I am going residence to New Zealand,” says Hywel Griffiths, chief scientific officer at Fermentalg.

There are tons of of 1000’s of species of microalgae – microscopic organisms, which largely stay in water. They’re important to the aquatic meals chain and in addition produce half the oxygen we breath.

Some are already used commercially, to make food, animal feed and fertiliser.

However for Fermantalg one explicit kind, Galdieria sulphuraria, has a really helpful trait. It may be used to supply a pigment, appropriate to be used in meals, known as Galdieria blue.

“We develop the algae and make a number of it beneath circumstances which make a number of this explicit molecule – the blue,” says Mr Griffiths.

The pigment can be utilized for any meals and drinks and Mr Griffiths expects the primary merchandise utilizing Galdieiria blue will likely be on store cabinets early subsequent yr.

Galdieria blue was approved by the US Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) in Might, together with Butterfly pea flower extract (additionally a blue color) and calcium phosphate (white).

The FDA also approved Gardenia blue earlier this month.

New sources of color for meals are wanted as synthetic meals dyes are on their approach out.

In January, the FDA announced the banning of Pink Dye No. 3 in meals merchandise.

As well as, the FDA is trying to part out petroleum-based artificial dyes comparable to Yellow Dye 5 and 6 by the tip of subsequent yr as a part of the federal government’s mission to “Make America Wholesome Once more”.

“For the final 50 years, American kids have more and more been dwelling in a poisonous soup of artificial chemical substances,” FDA commissioner Marty Makary mentioned at a press convention in April.

Although not an outright ban, the FDA is hoping the meals business voluntarily complies to eradicate synthetic meals dyes by 2026.

It comes after years of stress from mother and father and campaigners for the FDA to revoke approval for dyes or educate customers extra in regards to the dangers.

In latest instances, many US states have made their very own strikes to move legal guidelines to take away synthetic meals colouring dyes.

International locations differ on the restrictions they’ve in place. Traditionally, the UK and the European Union have been stricter than the US.

The EU has been phasing out synthetic colourings during the last 20 years and in addition introducing warnings on meals with different colors.

So, these are good instances for companies creating pure alternate options.

US-based Sensient creates pure colors by sourcing uncooked supplies which might be grown particularly for his or her color content material. For instance, some crimson and purple colors are derived from carrots and potatoes.

“These crops are harvested, washed, processed right into a juice, and the color is extracted with water or different solvents,” says Paul Manning, chief government officer at Sensient.

“The ensuing color is additional processed to stabilise the focus and refine it to the precise shade desired by the client.”

However the laborious work will likely be making an attempt to match the artificial color. “It have to be equally vivid,” says Mr Manning.

“There are many examples of manufacturers changing to pure colors with much less vivid and vibrant shades the place the product does poorly available in the market and prospects complain about each the color and the flavour.”

Getting a secure, brilliant color additionally concerned a lot work for Fermantalg.

“To our shock we discovered that the method of rising the algae and the method of extracting the color can even have a reasonably vital affect on the steadiness of the product on the finish, regardless that it is pretty closely purified,” says Griffiths.

“However one thing that we have performed upstream is having an affect on how secure it’s on the finish.”

Will these new colors price extra?

“They’re dearer, however in precise contribution to the tip product, they are not truly that large an affect as a result of this stuff are used at a fraction of a proportion within the closing product,” says Mr Griffiths.

“In case you had a nosebleed and stood over the sink… that a little bit little bit of color goes a good distance.”

For the manufacturers which have lengthy relied on synthetic colourings, it is an upheaval.

“We’re reformulating our cereals served in faculties to not embrace FD&C colors by the 2026-27 faculty yr,” says a spokesperson for WK Kellogg, the corporate behind Kellogg’s.

FD&C refers to sure licensed artificial color components regulated by the FDA, and authorized by the Federal Meals, Drug, and Beauty Act.

Last year protesters gathered outdoors the corporate headquarters in Michigan, calling on it to take away synthetic dyes from cereals comparable to Froot Loops.

“We is not going to be launching any new merchandise with FD&C colors, starting in January 2026,” the spokesperson mentioned.

This yr meals giants together with Nestle, Kraft Heinz, Common Mills and Conagra have all pledged to phase out artificial food colourings.

One of many challenges for meals manufacturers reliant on synthetic colouring is that many pure meals dyes do not essentially have an extended shelf life, says Institute of Meals Technologists meals scientist Renee Leber.

“Whereas artificial dyes will outlive the shelf lifetime of just about any product.”

She additionally says that as many manufacturers rush to make the swap it’ll result in a “bottleneck” in manufacturing.

“We do not essentially have all these colors accessible. However now we have 10 months to get that proper.”

Given this is not an outright ban, is it nonetheless anticipated to result in sweeping change within the US meals business?

“If you’re a cereal firm and you’ve got a brightly colored cereal and your whole rivals swap from synthetics to pure colors, then you do not essentially wish to be the final one,” says Ms Leber.

“It is a tight timeframe however firms are doing their greatest to conform.”