Color Substances We Want in Packaged Foods

Natural colorants, one of the additives used in the food institute, are additives that are produced from completely natural sources and do not use chemical content. Additives are generally known as substances harmful to health, but natural colorants are very useful and valuable additives for human health, on the contrary of what is known. I would like to explain some of the natural color materials;

1-) Anthocyanins

It is one of the most used natural colorants.

It is found in dark red colored fruits (blackberries, kale) escaping to lilac.

2-) Canthaxanthin

It is a colorant in the carotenoid group.

It is the substance that gives color to plants in nature.

It gives a deep violet color to foods.

It is very sensitive to oxygen and light.

3-) Lycopene

It is the color substance found in tomatoes and is mostly found in the peel.

It gives a bright red color to the product it is added to.

It is a fat-soluble carotenoid.

It is very beneficial for human health as it is anticancer.

Since its bioavailability increases as a result of heat treatment, the bioavailability of products such as tomato paste or ketchup is higher.

4-) Beta Carotene

It is found in plant sources in orange color.

It is the provitamin of vitamin A.

Provitamin = It is the one that turns into a vitamin when it enters the body, although it is not a vitamin itself.

5-) Lutein

It is the substance that gives yellow color to the product it is added to in its carotenoid structure.

It is very beneficial for health.

The only downside is the high price.

It is mostly found in winter vegetables in nature; Cauliflower, Broccoli, Spinach

It is a water-insoluble oil-soluble colorant.

6-) Chlorophyll

It is often used to impart a green color.

The place where it is most produced is grass and nettle.

It is oxygen that causes the discoloration. It causes the green color to turn yellow.

Magnesium in the middle of chlorophyll is oxidized by taking the oxygen in the environment. For this reason, a chlorophyll-copper complex was created, that is, by chelating magnesium with copper to prevent oxygen binding to the structure, this complex is widely used today.

7-) Betanin

It gives a deep red color.

Since it has low pH stability, it gives a red color in acidic medium and close to purple in basic medium.

It is anticancer beneficial for health.

8-) Caramel

The caramelization event that occurs when sugar is exposed to heat is the product.

It is generally used for dark brown or black color formation.

Caramel is the non-combustible stage of sugar and is used to give black color.

One of the places where it is used most often is colas.

It is also often used for flavoring.

It dissolves in water as it is a colorant from sugar.

It is widely used additive in food institute.

It is the only natural color material that is not considered healthy in terms of health.

9-) Carmine (Cochineal)

It is the active ingredient obtained by extracting the bark on the back of an insect called Coccus cacti.

Cactus plants are planted for the cultivation of this insect, and these insects grow on the planted cacti.

It is not harmful because it is natural, but there is not enough information about its benefits.

It is known as halal because the insect's blood does not pass.

The pigment in the insect's shell is used for color.

It is orange in acidic medium and close to purple in alkaline medium. It is very sensitive to pH.

They are soluble in oil, alcohol and water.

10-) Paprika

It is a color substance obtained from red pepper.

Color substances in pepper; Capsorubin, Capsaicin, Capsanthin.

Capsaicin gives the pepper its characteristic aroma, is found in chips and gives bitterness.

Capsorubin gives the darkest color.

It is anticancer, beneficial for health. It is known as the reason why cancer disease is low in Urfa.

It is oil soluble.

11-) Curcumin

It is a color substance obtained from turmeric.

It gives an orange-yellow color.

It is mostly used in curry sauces.

It is mostly used as a flavoring agent in the food industry.

It is very sensitive to heat and light.

It is very beneficial for health.

If concentrate is used, its color changes from yellow to orange.

In natural color materials, all color materials other than caramel are beneficial for health, that is, not every additive is bad or harmful, they are color materials that should be used in the sector. For this reason, when buying packaged products, it should be paid attention to whether the colorants used are natural or not.