D.D. Williamson, Louisville, Ky., also sees more beverage companies sampling natural coloring. Often small beverage companies rely on flavor house for formulations, and the flavor houses source from natural coloring suppliers, says Campbell Barnum, the company’s vice president of marketing.

“Smaller companies continue to launch innovative beverages with product display panel listings like “no synthetic colors” for differentiation,” he says. “We are noticing a pick up in interest from large beverage companies that have experienced or witnessed the European Union’s defacto ban in July of the Southampton Six colors – including Allura Red, equivalent to FD&C Red 40 – and wish to test naturally derived colors in U.S. beverages in case a change in synthetic color regulations were to develop here. So the large companies are exploring natural alternatives in case they’re needed. The large companies already use naturally derived coloring in some U.S. product,. and now they’re testing them in others.”

D.D. Williamson’s Barnum agrees that in Europe including the warning label of child hyperactivity caused many beverage and food companies to reformulate older products. In North America, beverage companies are mainly focused on launching new products with natural coloring rather than reformulating old products, although there’s an increase in the latter influenced by Europe, he explains.

Natural colors also may be used in products that include synthetic colors because some of the anthocyanin and carotenoid color additives on the ingredient statement may be appealing to consumers for their nutraceutical properties, though the dosage usually is too small to have much impact, D.D. Williamson’s Barnum says. Another reason is the finished color blend’s hue may not be achievable using synthetic color additives alone, he says.

Most naturally derived colors perform best in acidic beverages, Barnum says. For example, anthocyanins, which may impart red to purple red hues in foods with lower acidity, are most stable below pH 3.5. Carotenoid-based colorings, like beta-carotene, also have improved stability at lower acidity levels.

“These two categories of colors are widely used in novel beverages,” Barnum says. “Many of these beverages also contain an abundance of vitamins and depending on the type, these vitamins may be a beneficial or disadvantageous effect on colors. The stability of carotenoid-based colors increases with the addition of vitamin C, while anthocyanin stability decreases.”

Choosing naturally derived colors that impart red hues for dairy-based beverages also may be challenging, he says. Anthocyanins, by chemical nature, change hue in response to changes in acidity. At the natural pH of yogurt and milk, anthocyanins will have a purple or bluish hue, respectively, rather than red and their stability is greatly reduced. In contrast, red beet exhibits a red hue across the board independent of the typical pH range of foods. However, ed beet is susceptible to heat induced degradation limiting its use, Barnum explains.

Natural colors derived from fruits, vegetables and other plant sources, are more susceptible to degradation from heat, light and other additives than synthetic colors. Some of these challenges can be overcome by careful product and packaging design.

High-temperature, short-time heating followed by immediate cooling is appropriate for natural colors, D.D. Williamson’s Barnum says.

“Since natural colors are susceptible to degradation by beat and light, protecting the finished product from extreme heat and minimizing light exposure will improve product performance,” he says. “Often times, manufacturers will use sleeve wraps on beverage containers or UV absorbers to protect the natural colors from light exposure.”

Incorporating vitamin C into beverages also will cause anthocyanins to fade, Barnum says. Some manufacturers offer encapsulated vitamin C as a solution to minimize this effect.

D.D. Williamson also recently launched an acid-proof, Class One caramel color and a certified organic, acid-proof caramel color. In 2009, the company launched naturally derived beta-carotene that is suitable for juice drinks. A few years ago, the company launched a purple sweet potato coloring, which can be labeled “vegetable juice for color.” Sales of this anthocyanin coloring continue to increase both as a straight color and a blend with other natural colorings in beverages, Barnum says.