Safe alternative for food coloring

CONSUMERS usually conceive the taste or flavour of the food they are about to eat through its color.

After all, color plays a vital role regarding the food preference of the major consumers.

For fresh foods, most consumers rely on the color to determine the level of ripeness or freshness of the desired commodity.

But for the processed food, it will be a lot different because when food undergoes processing, it loses its naturally vibrant color, thus the need for artificial color additives or food coloring.

Artificial coloring can make any food product more delectable and mouth-watering.

Unfortunately, some of the artificial food coloring elements are found to be harmful to the body.

Although some claims remains to be validated and subject to debates, they can be toxic and carcinogenic.

To address this concern, researchers from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) conducted a study with the objective of providing the public a healthy and safe alternative to artificial food coloring by using indigenous plants.

The study dubbed “Biotechnology in the Utilization of Natural Colors from Indigenous Plants” which was funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) aims to identify different indigenous plants with health benefitting natural colors and develop technologies using these plants.

The study screened over 20 indigenous plant species, among them included alugbati, lipote, duhat, 4 o’clock, gumamela, roselle, butterfly pea, pandan, turmeric, barberry, kamantigue, begonia, mayana leaf, bougainvillea, talinum, oxalis, impatiens, portulaca, nasturtium, and bell pepper.

These plants were screened using the following criteria: toxicity; tinctorial strength (potency of the pigment) but with minimal or without imparting any flavor or aroma; availability of the raw materials and ease of handling; mutagenicity (capacity to induce mutations); and stability of the pigment under different pH, temperature, and light regimen.

Also considered in selecting the plant pigment as food colorant are: solubility in water, and demand of a particular color in the market.

As potential food colorants, the researchers included plant species with Anthocyanins and Betalains, these are plant pigments that are water soluble.

To get the results, the colorants were tested under different types of food preparations – fresh, steamed, boiled, and baked.

Results of the study showed that among the plant species tested, the best sources of red colorant are: alugbati (Basella rubra L.), lipote (Syzygium curranii), and red 4 o’clock (Mirabilis jalapa L.).

Meanwhile, the best source for yellow pigment is turmeric (Curcuma domestica (L.); for blue pigment, it is the butterfly pea (Clitorea ternatea var. pleniflora), and for green pigment, it is the pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb).

The researchers noted that not all pigments from the plant species can be processed into colorants due to low tinctorial strength, and fragility, among others.

As a final product, the project was able to develop natural colorants in the form of freeze-dried whole extracts, microcapsules, gelatin bars, and glycerine solutions.

With the health benefitting natural colors that these indigenous plants can provide, these natural colorants are found to be a better option than its synthetic counterparts. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)