As more food and beverage companies launch products with coloring derived from natural sources, D.D. Williamson (DDW) found pH is a key challenge for the industry in this natural coloring trend.
Consumers have led U.S. manufacturers to create more new products that use alternatives to FD&C color additives for visual appeal, so DDW conducted an industry poll at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Food Expo in July 2013 to gain insight on the technical challenges of this new trend. The poll revealed 34% of participants ranked pH as the greatest stability challenge when working with naturally derived coloring for new product development.
“The wide distribution of responses indicates that suppliers of natural coloring can create value with technical support for food and beverage manufacturers at their product development stage," said Campbell Barnum, vice president, branding and market development, DDW.
DDW surveyed a total of 41 industry technologists at the 2013 IFT Food Expo. About 29% of those surveyed worked in the beverage industry. The balance of participants cut across the following food sectors: bakery/snack/cereal, dairy, confectionery, meat/poultry/fish/egg, sauce/soup/dressing, savory/seasoning and fruit preparations.
DDW asked the technologists, “Which is your greatest stability challenge in working with natural coloring for new product development?" The participants, all of whom hold technical positions, could choose between the following six responses: solubility, interaction with other components, pH, light, heat, and distribution or storage.
