Despite common public understanding that the word ‘vegan’ means free from animal products, there is no legally binding definition for the term in the UK and EU. This means that products labelled ‘vegan’ can contain trace amounts of eggs or dairy. Furthermore,...
Colour is an important part of what appeals to consumers about food, making it stand out on the shelf and enhancing the perception of taste. Food colourants, therefore, have a vital job to do. Fermentation, which can produce vegan, kosher and halal colourants...
Danish ingredients firm Chr Hansen claims it has produced carmine through fermentation, meaning a cheaper, vegetarian, halal and kosher version of the natural red colouring could be just a few years from commercial use.
Optimised methods of extracting the food colourant carmine could offer industry lower allergenicity and higher stability than currently used extraction techniques, say researchers.
A newly developed natural food colouring made from beetroot extracts could be a solution to replacing carmine colours made from insects, according to ingredient producer Synthite.
Chr Hansen has raised its outlook for 2010/11 after another fine set of results in Q2, with particularly strong performance from its colours and blends division – though it continues to keep close watch on carmine prices.
Vitiva has developed a new heat-stable red colour from beetroot for use in meat applications instead of expensive and allergenic carmine from cochineal insects.
Chr Hansen is exploring ways of stabilising the supply of cochineal, the raw material used to make natural red colour carmine, as demand for the South American insect is outstripping supply.
The use of the food colouring carmine has steadily increased in key European markets over the past six years, according to the latest market data from Mintel.
Suppliers of the food colouring carmine are taking a cautious approach to new customers, as the industry continues to feel the impact of supply shortages, which this year sent prices for the ingredient soaring six fold.
In the second of a four part series on natural colours, FoodNavigator looks at challenges in finding colours that work in formulations – and ensuring the supply chain is secure once a source has been identified.
Carmine and cochineal extracts, the red food dyes made from the
dried bodies of the cochineal insect, should be removed from the
food supply once and for all, claims the non-profit Center for
Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).
