What is Food Colours?

Food Colours are added to foods to change their color and form to help consumers find them more attractive. Experts have long known that colour plays an important role in the taste and perception of food. But have you ever wondered where these colours come from? Let’s take a closer look.

Why is colour added to foods?

• Off colour food is generally considered to be inferior in quality and hence colours are added.
• Colours can also protect vitamins and flavors that can be affected by sunlight during storage.
• By using colours, we can inflate the natural colour of a dish and introduce decorative colours to other foods.
• The colour of food can affect perceived taste.

Types of Food - Natural and Synthetic Food Colours:

There are two types of food colouring: Synthetic and natural. Surprisingly, natural colours are not a better choice as they are derived entirely from plants. Natural Food Colours generally appear less vibrant than Synthetic Food Colours. However, it does not affect the taste of your food.

Natural Food Colours:

Natural food colouring is any dye, pigment or any other substance derived from vegetable, animal, mineral that is capable of colouring foods or medicines. Colours come from a variety of sources such as seeds, fruits, vegetables, algae and pests. Grass, beet root and turmeric are some of the natural sources from which colours are extracted.

Know your natural colours:

• Red, Blue and Purple: obtained from anthocyanin found in beet, raspberries and red cabbage.
• Green: Green pigment found in all leaves and stems, derived from chlorophyll.
• Yellow, Orange, Red: obtained from carotenoids found in apricots, carrots and tomatoes.

Synthetic Food Colours:

They are also called artificial colours. Synthetic Food Colours are manufactured by chemical reaction and are commonly used in the food and pharmaceutical industries. Some of the prevalent food colours are Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow, Amaranth, Allura Red, Quinoline Yellow, Brilliant Blue and Indigo Carmine.

Synthetic or Natural:

Due to consumer concerns around synthetic dyes, there is an inclination towards promoting natural dyes. Certified, synthetic dyes are popular because they are less expensive but they are also effective in giving an intense and uniform colour. They can easily blend to give a variety of colours. The use of synthetic food dyes is gradually decreasing in India too after realizing their harmful effects. Given the relatively high cost of natural dyes, it seems that the transition from synthetic dyes is an extremely slow process.

Regulation

Whether it is natural or synthetic, the main thing is to meet the desired specifications of the product as prescribed by the regulation. There is a set of rules as per FSSAI-Indian regulatory body for the use of food colours in various foods. Even if there is an inclination towards natural products, if the desired specifications are not met, it is of no purpose.