Global Focus: food colours vs colouring foods in the USA, EU, China,Russia and Brazil

摘要

Consumers typically enjoy vivid colours in fashion, art and even in food because, as the saying goes, people "taste" first with their eyes, then their mouths. However, many of the manufacturing processes employed today decrease the inherent colour contained in the food; even the simple act of heating can destroy pigment molecules such as anthocyanins that provides red and blue shades to fruits and berries (1). In the past, food companies have utilized synthetic substances to add vibrant colour to food products; however, consumers increasingly request a return to food ingredients derived from natural sources with minimal processing, but still want to purchase foods containing the same strong colour profile. Therefore, food manufacturers search for colours derived from natural sources that provide the vibrant colour that consumers the world over have become accustomed to. However, in searching for a "new" colour, one must first understand how the various colouring products are defined and regulated.In fact, the definitions and regulations of food colours as food additives vary from region to region and country to country and the notion of colouring food is not established in a regulatory sense in many countries.