Interested in a little light reading?

Healthcare costs are on the rise and like many, I am taking the prevent-defense approach by adding healthier alternatives to my lifestyle. Healthy eating is sweeping the nation with an increased emphasis on adding natural foods in our diets. With organic food options lining the shelves of our local stores and natural and whole food grocery chains popping up in nearly every town, food manufacturers are rethinking the way food is produced. Taking center stage is the debate over synthetic food color additives. Despite the fact that consumers are pushing for all natural ingredients, artificial color still has a major effect on food perception and taste. Color additives are here to stay, but new concerns are causing changes in regulations that may cause a shift in the way we look at food. Color additive alternatives also bring change to color measurement needs and require spectrophotometric analysis for new standard compliance.

Consumers are seeking a more ‘natural’ approach to food coloring, and artificial colorants are being replaced by more plant-based alternatives. Image Source: Flickr user klubbers

The FDA is responding to consumer demands with new regulations on the use of artificial food colorants and manufactures must seek more natural alternatives. Image Source: Flickr user Mike Mozart

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and my calendar is filled with parties and festivities that allow me to share this joyous season with family and friends. Most holiday gatherings involve a fair share of snacks and food. However, as much as I love those brightly colored cheese puffs, I worry that maybe the artificial food colorant that fills my plate may not be so wonderful at all. Consumers are starting to be more aware of what they put into their bodies and there has been a lot of controversy over the use of artificial food colorant in recent years. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is in the process of developing new regulations which have manufacturers looking for more natural alternatives.

Beta-Carotene is a naturally derived pigment that is abundant in many fruits and vegetables, and provides an alternative for food colorant in many products within the food and beverage industries. Its strong red-orange hue makes it an ideal alternative to artificial food colorants, plus beta-carotene provides an excellent source of vitamin A and its antioxidant properties are an added bonus. Spectrophotometers play an essential role in the measurement of beta-carotene as both a nutritional supplement and a natural food colorant. Processing, labeling, and regulations all require quantifiable color measurement to ensure quality and consistency in the food and beverage industries, and spectrophotometers provide the ideal means to do so.

Spectrophotometers have played an essential role in the evaluation of fruits and vegetables for decades. Now, spectrophotometers are promoting increased produce intake.

As early as the 1920s, scientists have used color-based evaluation systems to determine the quality of fruits and vegetables. The first attempts were rudimentary, employing the manual use of Munsell color matching disks and other methodologies reliant on visual analysis.1 Such approaches were inherently subjective, dependent on the error-prone human eye, limiting their accuracy. But with the introduction of spectral analysis, that changed. Suddenly, there was an objective way of measuring color, one that allowed researchers to precisely categorize the quality of fruits and vegetables via spectral reflectance values rather than unreliable human sight.

Today, spectrophotometers are employed by fruit and vegetable producers all over the world to evaluate both the appearance and the constitution of produce. These sophisticated instruments allow for the highest level of quality control to ensure only the most appealing products enter the marketplace. Additionally, the captured data guides horticultural practices and protects public health and safety.

But while spectrophotometers have led to the production of more consistent and visually appealing produce, this has yet to translate into increased consumption of fruits and vegetables. Now, researchers want to change that.

Despite ample evidence that that fruits and vegetables provide important health benefits, intake remains low.

Many industries use color additives to achieve certain effects, like making a product appealing, attractive, or appetizing. Color additives also help consumers identify information like flavors or dosages.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the use of color additives, as many mixtures and chemicals used in these substances can be hazardous when interacted with or ingested. Understanding FDA color additive regulations is essential to safely and appropriately use them in your products.

Why Does the FDA Regulate Colors?

FDA color additive regulation is essential to ensure the safe and appropriate use of color additives. Without regulations, harmful additives could be used, resulting in harmful health effects. As a business, you must pay attention to FDA food color regulations because your products can be reviewed and cause the FDA to take enforcement action against your product and business.

Colors have long been added to cosmetics, drugs, and food. Traditionally, color additives came from natural mineral and vegetable sources. In the mid-1800s, synthetic dyes were discovered and created with coal by-products. By the 1900s, many products were artificially colored, and numerous coloring agents were found to be toxins, carcinogens, irritants, and more. Additionally, artificial colors were often used to hide damage or imperfections in food products.

This led Congress to pass the Food and Drugs Act in 1906, prohibiting poisonous color additives in food products and concealing food inferiorities. In 1927, the recently-established FDA became responsible for enforcing it. Over the next several years, the FDA recognized the need for stricter regulation over color additives in food and drug products. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 did just that, including medical and cosmetic device regulations.

In 1960, the FDA released amendments to the color additive regulations after continued health issues related to food additives. The amendments clearly defined “color additive” and indicated that color additives could only be used if listed as “suitable and safe” for specific uses. Since then, the FDA has been removing additives from the list — only about half remain today.

Understanding FDA Food Regulations

Food color additives must be FDA approved before they can be used in food products. The approval process involves scientifically evaluating the color additive to ensure its safety.

After approving a color additive, the FDA continually monitors its use to ensure it remains safe. Regulations change if an additive is deemed unsafe to use at any point. The FDA updates its Final Rules for food color additives based on petitions filed, which you can check anytime.

When using color additives in food, maintaining compliance is essential. There are many aspects of FDA food color regulations to keep in mind to help ensure you're following regulations. While you should check for specifics, here are several regulations you need to follow:

• Only use additives with an approved status on the FDA's list.
• Include the proper information on your food dye label per general labeling requirements.
• Only use approved or safe levels of color additives.
• List all food ingredients, including color additives, on the label.

Failure to comply with FDA food color regulations creates health risks for consumers and can result in various repercussions from the FDA. For example, you may incur fines, you may receive a warning letter, or your products could be removed from commerce. Understanding and measuring color additives can help ensure you stay compliant.

It’s not often that the intrigue and specter of criminal activity enter the honey world. However, when it comes to manuka honey, it’s a different story. Manuka honey, derived from the manuka tree, is one of the rarest and valuable kinds of honey in the world. Renowned for its touted medicinal properties and rich, complex flavor, manuka honey fetches significantly higher prices than standard honey, spurring the emergence of a global counterfeiting industry.

Approximately 1,700 tons of manuka honey are produced annually in New Zealand, “representing almost all the world’s production.” Yet 10,000 tons of honey product labeled as manuka is being sold each year around the world, with 1,800 of those tons sold in the UK alone.1 The problem has become so widespread that specialized testing methodologies have now been developed to differentiate between true manuka honey and counterfeit or adulterated versions.2 These authentication methods have the potential to save the honey industry (and consumers) millions of dollars each year. But until global implementation of such testing is realized, large-scale counterfeiting is likely to continue.

The primary way manuka consumers seek to identify manuka honey is by color. The product is known for its creamy to dark brown hues, hinting at its strong, distinctive flavor. As such, replicating this color is imperative to passing off counterfeits as the real deal. This may be done using a variety of methods, including adding syrups or other colorants to lighter kinds of honey to approximate the distinctive appearance of manuka. It is perhaps the strongest example of how valuable honey color can be and why color standards matter.

A Matter of Color

Manuka honey is not the only honey customers primarily evaluate based on color. In fact, honey color is perhaps the most important variable in guiding consumer choices, as it ostensibly hints at the flavor one can expect from the product. As Aubert and Gonnet wrote as early as 1986, “A very dark-colored honey is suggestively associated with a very flavored product, while a light-colored honey suggests more subtle and refined fragrances.”3 However, these assumptions are not always consistent. Indeed, “The link between the color and flavor of honey is often accidental.”

Despite the accidental nature of this link, consumers tend to have strong preferences when it comes to honey color. These are the result of both individual and cultural tastes. For example, American consumers tend to prefer lighter colored honeys while German, Swiss, and Austrians often prefer darker varieties.4 This, however, may be changing with the emergence of artisanal honeys and increased interest in rare and novel food products.5 Additionally, while color is not a perfect predictor of flavor, it can be an important indictor of quality. Color that deviates from expectations may indicate the intentional or unintentional addition of additives, processing errors, or contamination.

Honey can range from the palest white to rich amber.

Cocoa beans provide a variety of biochemical components that can positively impact health and can be measured through spectrophotometric analysis. Image Source: Flickr user Everjean

Chocolate is one of my favorite food groups. Okay, well maybe it’s not a food group, but I have learned that chocolate is good for your health, and many of the biochemical properties found in cocoa beans can aid in digestion, cardiovascular, and psychological health. Spectrophotometers are a useful tool when it comes to analyzing the various properties of cocoa beans. The quantifiable data produced through color measurement provides a valuable analytical tool that can be used for processing methods, caffeine extraction quantification, and for quality control.

As consumers look for healthy alternatives to carbonated soft drinks, apple juice is making a splash. Image Source: Pexels user Jeshoots

The fact that soda isn’t the most healthy beverage isn’t news. Historically, sugar content was the quality of soda that consumers considered to be “bad for you” and diet soda was presented as a healthier alternative. Part of this perception was driven by marketing campaigns that playing up their lack of calories. That much-feared word that has become synonymous with weight gain. But in recent years, we have increasingly begun to examine the health impact of diet sodas and, more specifically, the artificial sweeteners they contain. The results have been startling. Last week a study by researchers at George Washington found that sucralose consumption is linked to weight gain; the very phenomenon so many diet soda enthusiasts are seeking to avoid.1So what are health-conscious consumers to do? For a growing number of consumers, fruit juices offer a perfect solution. According to global market intelligence company Transparency Market Research, “the global juice market is [now] the most competitive segment in the beverage industry” and it’s expected to grow significantly in coming years.2 While some juice producers are responding to consumer demand for healthy alternatives to carbonated soft drinks by introducing exotic products, others are introducing organic and low-calorie alternatives to traditional juices. Chief among these is apple juice, an old favorite that is taking on new life in the rapidly changing fruit juice market. In Norway, for example, apple juice sales have nearly doubled in the past 5 years.3

But increasing global interest in apple juice doesn’t mean juice producers can rest on their laurels. As demand for healthier beverages has grown, so too has the desire for high quality and aesthetically pleasing products. For apple juice producers, this translates to juices of the right color and clarity, making apple juice color and haze measurement more important than ever before.