The growing list of companies completing the conversion from synthetic colors and flavors to natural options—to say nothing of emerging brands that go all-natural from the start—proves that today’s clean colors and flavors are approaching performance parity with the “unclean” counterparts they aim to supplant.
These sentiments reflect a broader lean toward health, wellness and mindful eating that encompasses everything from “natural” and “clean” ingredients to organic and non-GMO agriculture, “free-from” diets, sustainability and transparency.
Consider: SPINS reported in its 2019 State of the Natural Industry Report that organic products accounted for 3% of food and beverage sales—outpacing total market growth—and vegan products are growing at a rate of 10%. Meanwhile, a 2018 report from Label Insight and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) found consumers are craving more transparency in food and beverage ingredients and 75% said they would switch to a brand that provides more in-depth product information beyond what’s provided on the ingredient deck.
For “natural” colors, the CFR classifies color additives into one of two groups: those subject to batch certification—so-called certified colors, which bear FD&C numbers—and colors exempt from certification.
It’s the latter category that are typically sourced from plants, animals or minerals and, thus, typically deemed “natural” by consumers and industry. “However, because FDA considers all color additives used to impart color to food to be artificial colorants, even these exempt colors cannot be labeled as natural,” noted a global regulatory specialist at Sensient Food Colors.
In other words, if a brand adds a colorant—even a naturally derived one—to a formulation where it wouldn’t have occurred naturally, it can’t declare it natural on the label.
Fortunately, it’s by no means inevitable that naturally colored and flavored products will be inferior to those made with synthetics. In fact, Sensient Food Colors likened such comparisons to “defamation.”
“Natural colors give developers the ability to maximize performance and shade selection. If your crayon box is more robust and fuller, you have greater shade options and more effective ways of optimizing natural color performance.”
Learn more by reading the full article at the link below.