No more murky not-quite-red drinks

No longer should beverage producers accept fading, murky colours in their drinks.

Across the international F&B industry beverage producers are struggling with the problem of fading natural colours in their products. Due to stability limitations of the colours used in the products, many beverages start to lose their visual appeal whilst they are for sale in the supermarket, especially if they are exposed to bright light whilst on display.

“This is a burning issue for beverage producers as poorly looking products may eventually jeopardise their brand,” said Chr. Hansen’s Ellen Hemme, Industry Product Manager, Natural Colours Division. “In order to avoid this risk producers have had to accept shortened shelf-life of their beverages, high scrapping rates — or the use of costly bottles with an integrated UV filter that can prevent or defer the fading process. Additionally, the fading issue has been causing hesitation amongst beverage producers who wish to switch from synthetic to natural colours but who fear the fading issue.”

Introducing 'Ultra Stable Red'

“With this industry issue in mind we are very proud to be launching a landmark innovation for red beverages: a range of beautifully bright and intense, vegetable-based colours with outstanding stability,” said Ms Hemme. “Our new ‘Ultra Stable Red’ solutions are based on new and unique anthocyanin blends combining stabilising technology. The solutions are ideal for colouring a wide range of beverage applications including carbonated soft drinks, juice-based drinks, sports and energy drinks, and vitamin waters.”

Anthocyanins are natural colour pigments that are extracted from vegetable sources such as grape skin and black carrot. Despite their wide range of orange-red to violet shades, it is a challenge to maintain the stability of these colours especially in beverage matrixes with high water activity.

However, the stability of the Ultra Stable Red solutions in beverages is 30-40% better compared to existing anthocyanin colours. This translates into a significant extension of the shelf life of the beverage product as well as cost savings in the entire beverage life cycle due to less scrapping of faded beverages and no expenses for bottles with UV filter.

Dual attractiveness
“The new Ultra Stable Red solutions are attractive for two types of beverage producers,” explained Ms Hemme. “Firstly, those who are currently using ‘Allura Red’ or ‘Red 40’—one of the ‘Southampton Six’ artificial colours—and who wish to convert to a natural colour stable enough for their requirements. Secondly, we expect that beverage producers who are currently using less stable natural colour solutions—but who have been searching for a way to maintain a visually appealing red coloFootwear