New Lycopene Colorants For Foods, Beverages

ORANGE, N.J.LycoRed Ltd. introduced new formulations of natural, vegetarian red colorants as part of its Tomat-O-Red® line of tomato lycopene color for various carmine-free food and beverage applications. The lycopene color line will be showcased at the IFT 2013 Expo in Chicago.

In 2011, sales of natural colors overtook the sales of the synthetic or artificial colors for the first time, according to a Mintel report. "The increased demand from customers seeking to replace carmine encouraged us to extend our natural red colorants line and develop new formulations suitable for additional food applications such as confectionery, dairy and beverage," said Roee Nir, global commercial manager for LycoRed.

The new formulations serve as a natural solution for food manufacturers wanting to replace the insect-derived cochineal extract in their formulations. They are also free from any allergenic components, as listed in the EU's Directive 2007/68/EC and those identified in the USA's Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of Aug. 2, 2004. The colorants provide a deeper red lycopene color with blue backgrounds, similar to the shades from carmine, and are available in liquid forms.

"The advantage of these new formulations is their high stability across a wide range of pH levels, light conditions, high temperatures and also in the presences of vitamin C," Nir said.

For more information on natural colors for health-conscious consumers visit the article Naturally Colorful on Food Product Design.