With consumer demand for fair trade, sustainable and organic products growing fast, Frutarom Natural Solutions Ltd, a division of International Flavours and Fragrances Inc, has received organic certification for its natural annatto colour.
The ingredient was granted organic certifications from both the US Department of Agriculture and The European Organic Certifiers Council.
Annatto seeds and extracts have been used for more than a century in Europe and North America to provide a yellow to reddish colour to foods and beverages, thus becoming the second-most economically important natural colorant worldwide.
To support the certification, Frutarom registered and trained over 50 annatto seed farmers in the Quillabamba Valley in Cuzco, Peru and in Codo del Pozuzo in Puerto Inca, Peru.
The division also meets all organic regulations while ensuring fair salaries to the growers. Frutarom maintains full traceability on the growing and harvesting processes to provide a pure, organic annatto colour.
“Organic colours are an integral part of the established clean label trend, meaning that the colors support our customers’ efforts to satisfy consumer needs,” said Yoni Glickman, president, Natural Product Solutions, IFF Frutaro.
“Organic certification has become the standard of the industry, especially as it involves all aspects of growing, harvesting, extracting, and maintaining full traceability of the ingredient, from seed to final product,” he added.
Frutarom has carefully selected agricultural land free of prohibited chemical inputs for its Natural Solutions Products business. The farmers it works with use non-GMO (genetically-modified organisms) seeds, and do not use synthetic fertilisers, antibiotics, pesticides, or hormones.
“It is all about caring and staying loyal to consumers’ expectations for better-for-you products that are also eco-friendly and help us to protect the environment,” noted Ilanit Bar-Zeev, vice-president, Natural Product Solutions, IFF Frutarom.
Frutarom works to create natural and organic solutions that are affordable and accessible to the marketplace.
“There is a delicate balance in providing natural, organic colour with responsible sourcing, while still keeping it cost effective,” said Bar-Zeev.
Frutarom is committed to expanding its portfolio of better-for-you and better-for-the-Earth ingredients that manufacturers and consumers can trust.
