As with many ingredient categories, added food colorings have been on the mind of industry professionals and consumers alike. As shoppers push for cleaner labels in the snack category, chefs and scientists working in these groups are challenged to find color solutions that add the vibrancy that appeals to customers in natural ways. Making the switch from an artificial coloring system to something more natural can be tricky, however, and there are a few things the savvy developer knows when working with natural colors.
What are we actually talking about when we say “natural color”? The FDA doesn’t use the term “natural color,” but instead divides colors into two categories: those that require certification, such as human-made synthetics or lakes (pigments created from precipitation with a metallic salt), and those that are exempt from certification, such as colors derived from natural sources. The FDA labels all of these colors as additives, regardless of the source.