‘They bring sunshine to food and drink’: GNT Group on its latest orange colours

By Oliver Morrison

- Last updated on GMT

Pumkin cookies Image: GNT
Pumkin cookies Image: GNT

Related tags GNT Colours Clean label

Netherlands-based GNT Group has launched two new food colorings to its Exberry range that deliver bright orange shades in powder and oil-dispersible formats.

Maartje Hendrickx, GNT’s Market Development Manager, told FoodNavigator that the extended colour rage will allow manufacturers to use the company’s orange shades in a wider range of applications.

“The Brilliant Orange powder can be used for non-aerated confectionery, bakery and savory products,” ​she told us. “The oil-dispersible Brilliant Orange Intense is suitable for compound coatings, spray-coated oil seasonings and other fat-based applications.”

The new formats are available alongside the existing Exberry shade of Brilliant Orange liquid, which is aimed at confectionery uses as well as many bakery and savory applications.

Made from paprika and carrot, the orange shades are ideal for a variety of product options, Hendrickx said. “They can be used to bring a sense of sunshine to food and drink, helping to inspire positive emotions, or for seasonal launches, such as autumnal and Halloween products. Brilliant Orange is also effective in many plant-based products including meat, cheese and seafood alternatives.”

She added the new products are pH-independent and offer good light and heat stability as well as a good shelf life. They are 100% plant-based, halal and kosher, and made without any chemical solvents. As such, they offer a perfect clean-label replacement for artificial colorants as well as additives such as annatto, beta carotene and paprika extract.

Protecting the characteristic properties of the colour source

GNT’s Exberry range comprises over 400 colour shades. They are made from fruit, vegetables and edible plants using gentle physical methods such as chopping, heating and filtering.

When processing the colours, GNT ensures the products are not selectively extracted so that they retain the characteristic properties of the source material.

“The production involves manufacturing fruit, vegetables and plants into concentrates whose flavor and smell largely correspond to the original material. In the case of Exberry Brilliant Orange shades, the raw materials are paprika and carrot​,” Hendrickx revealed.

“Exberry colours are produced using physical processing methods such as chopping, heating and filtration, with water as the processing media. No organic solvents are used. They are based on the principle of coloring food with food and can be safely consumed at any stage during the production process.”

Fibres are ‘partially removed’ by the process, she said, but the nutritive constituents are retained ‘to a certain degree’.

Clean label food colours

As a result of the processing methods, the colours qualify for cleaner and clearer labelling declarations.

“The EU’s guidance notes on the classification of food extracts with coloring properties set out criteria on how to differentiate between additive colors and Coloring Foods. This differentiation centers on whether a selective extraction of pigments relative to the nutritive and aromatic constituents takes place​,” explained Hendrickx.

“Any coloring ingredient that does not meet the criteria for Coloring Foods according to the EU guidance notes is classified as an additive food color. Additive food colors need regulatory approval and must be declared as an additive on the label.”

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