Food colors, Types, Purpose & E Numbers.

Food Coloring : Food Coloring is a substance that impart color when it is added into the food or drink.

                                                                    or

Food Coloring is a dye, pigment when added or applied to a food, is capable of imparting color.

Now a days customers seeking food or food products that contain safe ingredients. Food Coloring is available in the form of Liquid, powder, gels and paste etc. Food coloring can be used at commercially and domestically food processing. Color is also play an important ingredient in food safety .

Purpose Of Food Color:

• Color also important parameter on which can judge the quality of food.
• Color restore color loss during processing.
• Color ensure uniformity from batch to batch.
• Color is play an important role in customer acceptability.
• Color improve taste, texture & appearance.
• Improve nutritional value,
• Color can provide color to colorless & fun foods.
• Color offset color loss.
• Color enhance color that occur naturally.
• Color make food more attractive, appetizing & informative.
• To maintain or improve safety and freshness.

Types Of Food Color:

1-Natural Food Color

2-Artificial Food Color

3-Natural Identical Color

1-Natural Food Color:

Natural Food Color is any dye, pigment or any other substance obtained from the source of vegetables, animals, minerals, insects, algae etc. that capable of coloring foods.

• Natural colors for use in all types of foods.
• Natural dyes used for centuries to color foods.
• Natural Colors are more expensive.
• Most commonly used natural colors are carotenoids, chlorophyll, anthocyanin & turmeric etc.
• Carotene have a deep red, yellow or orange color.
• Artificial Colors are less stable.
• Natural color or pigments made by living organisms.
• No need certification o sell or use.
• Artificial Colors are weaker than artificial colors.
• ex: Beetroot extract, annatto & luetic.

2-Artificial Color:

Artificial Color are also called synthetic colors. They are manufactured by chemical processes & commonly used in food & pharmaceutical industries.

Artificial color are food dyes approves for use in food by the United State Food and Drug Administration(USFDA). Artificial colors are purely man made colors. Artificial color are less costly & less prone to microbial contamination. These are highly stable to light, oxygen & pH.

ex:

• Brilliant blue FCF
• Indigotine dark - Blue
•  Fast green FCF-  Blueish green
• Allura red AC
• Erythrosine - Pink
• Tartrazine - Yellow
• Sunset yellow- Orange

3-Natural-Identical Colors:

Natural Identical Colors are the exactly same molecules found in natural sources but they are made synthetically.

• Less costly.
• Improves their purity,
• Difficult to add them directly to foods.
• Most of the identical colors can dissolves in oil but do not dissolves in water.

Color E Numbers

E no. range 

E100  -  E109              Yellows

E110  -  E119              Oranges

E120  -  E129              Reds

E130  -  E139              Blues & Violets

E140  -  E149              Greens

E150  -  E159              Browns & Blacks

E160  -  E199              Gold & Others