[EDITOR'S NOTE: I am redirecting this post from the blog to the forums, where it's better suited. It was written by member Alice Lee, who is a sales representative for Zhongda Biology, a Chinese manufacturer that has specialized in natural color production and application for more than 20 years. The content below expresses the views of the author and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees.]
It’s a fact that synthetic pigment is harmful to human body. They are toxic (including toxicity, causing diarrhea and cancer). These toxicities originated from arsenic , lead, copper in the synthetic pigment, they can cause harm to human body in different extent.
While
natural pigment is new trend in food application area. They are healthy and safe. People are paying more and more attention to
natural color development and application these days. Below are some knowledge about
natural colors.
Definition
Source
Natural colors usually come from the
natural ingredients, such as
red beet, grape and paprika, these food products has been widely accepted and recognized by many consumers. Therefore,
colorants from these materials can be easily accepted by consumers and safer to be used. Most of them are from
vegetable colorants.
Thanks to the usage of
natural pigments, some foods look more natural and they become more popular among consumers.
Natural pigment not only seize the market of synthetic pigments but also some pigment extracts’ market in EU nowadays.
Characteristic
Most
vegetable colorants are safe having no side-effects. The majorities are
anthocyanins,
catenoids,
flavoids. They are biologically active substances thus the functional ingredients in
herbal and
healthcare food. They have the function of strengthening the immune system,
anti-oxidation and reducing the blood lipids in
healthcare foods. In ordinary foods, they have the function of nutrition-strengthening and anti-oxidation.
The hue of vegetable colorants are more natural. They can not only increase the hue but also a beauty of nature since they are closer to natural hue.
Application
The
natural pigment application and development has become a issue that is widely concerned by science and technology workers from most industries. People are trying to get
naturalpigments from various kinds of vegetable and animal resources and explore their physiological activity to relieve and even resolve the problems which are caused by synthetic pigments.
Japan has been ranked on the top in natural pigment application and development industry. The usage of
natural pigment is more than synthetic pigment in early 1975 in Japan. The
natural pigment market has surpassed 200 million Japanese yuan. Until May,1995, the approved
natural pigment in Japan have reached 97 categories.