As the pressure grows to eliminate artificial coloring food coloring in the United States, the change could well start in the Abby Tampow laboratory.
One afternoon, the scientist bowed on small red dye plates, each with a slightly different ruby tone. Your task? Match the synthetic tone used for years in a commercially bottled raspberry vinaigrette, but using only natural ingredients.
“With this red, it needs a little more orange,” Tampow said, mixing a violet black carrot juice with a little beta-carotene, an orange red color made of algae.
Tampow is part of the Sensient Technologies Corp. team, one of the world’s largest dye manufacturers, which hasten to help the manufacturer of salad dressings, along with thousands of other US companies, to meet the demands of renewing the colors used to shine products that range from cereals to sports drinks.
Many of our clients have decided that this is finally the moment in which they are going to make that change to a natural color, ”said Dave Gebhardt, Senior Technical Director of Sensient. He joined a recent tour of the Sensient Color factory in a neighborhood in northern San Luis.
US health officials announced plans to persuade food companies to voluntarily eliminate Artificial dyes oil -based by the end of 2026.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy JR described them as “Poisonous compounds” that endanger the health and development of children, citing limited evidence of possible health risks.
The federal impulse follows a series of state laws and a decision to prohibit the artificial dye known as Red Tres, which is found in cakes, candies and some medications, due to the risks of cancer in laboratory animals. Influencers on social networks and common consumers have intensified calls to eliminate the artificial food colors.
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Natural colors change may not be fast
The United States Food and Medicines Administration (FDA) allows around three dozen color additives, including eight remaining synthetic dyes. But make change of oil -based dyes In colors derived from vegetables, fruits, flowers and even insects will not be easy, fast or cheap, explained Monica Giusti, an expert in food coloring of the Ohio State University.
“Study after study has shown that if all companies eliminated the synthetic colors of their formulations, the supply of natural alternatives would not be sufficient,” Giusti said. “We are not really prepared”.
It can take six months to one year to convert a single product of a synthetic dye to a natural one. And it may require three to four years to increase the supply of botanical products necessary for a change throughout the industry, Sensient officials indicate.
It is not as if there were 150 million pounds of beet juice waiting in case the entire market becomes, ”says Paul Manning, executive director of the company.“ Dozens of millions of pounds of these products need to be cultivated, extracted from the ground, processed ”.
To make natural dyes, Sensient works with farmers and producers around the world to harvest raw materials, which generally reach the plant as bulk concentrates. They are processed and mixed in liquids, granules or powders and then sent to food companies to be added to the final products.
Natural dyes are more difficult to make and use than artificial colors. They are less consistent in color, less stable and are subject to changes related to acidity, heat and light, Manning said. Blue is especially difficult. There are not many natural sources of color and those that exist can be difficult to maintain during processing.
In addition, a natural color costs approximately 10 times more to make the synthetic version, Manning estimated.
“How do you get that same liveliness, that same performance, that same level of security in that product as it would in a synthetic product?” express. “There is a lot of complexity associated with that.”
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The insects that could make the ‘Rosa Barbie’ naturally
Companies have long used the red synthetic dye three to create what Sensient officials describe as “the Barbie pink.”
To create that color with a natural source, the use of piglets, an insect of the size of a pepper grain may be required.
Insect females release a vibrant red pigment, carmine acid, in their bodies and eggs. Insects live only in cactus of cactus in Peru and other places. Around 70 thousand cochineal insects are needed to produce approximately 2.2 pounds of dye.
“It is interesting how the most exotic colors are found in the most exotic places”, Said Norb Norbrega, who travels around the world looking for new tones for sensing.
Artificial dyes are widely used in the food of the United States. Approximately one in five food products in the United States contains added colors, whether natural or synthetic, Manning estimated. Many contain multiple colors.
The FDA requires that a sample of each lot of synthetic colors for tests and certification be sent. Color additives Derived from plant, animals or mineral sources are exempt, but have been evaluated by the agency.
Health defenders have long requested the elimination of artificial food dyes, citing mixed studies that indicate that they can cause neuroconductual problems, including hyperactivity and care problems, in some children.
The FDA says that approved dyes are safe when used according to regulations and that “most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods that contain color additives.”
But critics point out that the added colors are a key component of ultraprocessed foods, which represent more than 70% of the American diet and have been associated with a series of chronic health problems, including heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
I am totally in favor of taking out the artificial food supply dyes, ”said Marion Nestle, an expert in food policies.” They are strictly cosmetics, they have no health or safety purpose, they are markers of ultra -processed food and can be detrimental for some children. “
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TRIX cereals warning
Color is a powerful driver of consumer behavior and changes can have a counterproductive effect, Giusti said. In 2016, the General Mills food giant eliminated the artificial dyes of Trix cereals after consumer requests, changing to natural sources that included turmeric, strawberries and radishes.
But the cereal lost its neon colors, resulting in more turned off tones, and a negative reaction of consumers. Trx fans said they missed the bright colors and the family flavor of the cereal. In 2017, the company changed again.
When it is a product that you already love, which you are used to consuming, and changes slightly, so it may not really be the same experience, “Giusti said.” Advertising a regulatory change is a step, but then the implementation is something else. “
Kennedy, the Secretary of Health, said that US officials have an “understanding” with food companies to gradually eliminate artificial colors. Industry officials said there is no formal agreement.
However, several companies have said that they plan to accelerate a change in natural colors in some of their products.
The Pepsico CEO, Ramon Laguarta, said that most of its products are already free of artificial colors, and that their lays and toast brands will eliminate them by the end of 2025. He said that the company plans to eliminate artificial colors, or at least offer consumers a natural alternativein the coming years.
Representatives of General Mills indicated that they are “committed to continuing the conversation” with the administration. WK Kellogg officials pointed out that they are reformulating the cereals used in the country’s school lunch programs to eliminate artificial dyes and stop any new product that contains them from January 2026.
Sensient officials did not confirm which companies are looking for help to make the change, but said they are ready for the increase.
“Now that there is a date, there is a schedule,” Manning said. “It certainly requires action”.
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