NATCOL Code of Practice for Colouring Foods

2021-12-16 10:00:54

As food and beverage aisles are becoming more and more crowded and the “instagrammability” of such products has an increasing influence on consumers’ purchase decisions, eye-catching, vibrant looks are more relevant than ever. At the same time, consumers’ growing interest in clean eating has a great impact on food and beverage developments to an ingredient level. To leverage the value of colour in food and beverages while complying with the consumer need for more natural ingredients, natural colouring solutions like colouring foods offer a great option. Not surprisingly, the number of colored food and beverage launches with colouring foods are increasing since 2016 in Europe (Mintel GNPD).

As defined by the Natural Food Colours Association (NATCOL), “Colouring Foods” are food ingredients used by the food industry for the primary purpose of imparting colour to food and beverage products. They are manufactured from fruits, vegetables, flowers, spices, algae, and/or other edible source materials. For food extracts to be classified as Colouring foods they have to meet specific requirements.

NATCOL recently developed and launched a new Code of Practice for helping manufacturers and users to understand the EU provisions that govern Colouring Foods as well as their scope and application. This Code of Practice is a business-to-business guidance, which must be read in conjunction with the Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008.

The Code of Practice discusses

•             principles of the classification, source materials, manufacturing, quality, and safety of Colouring Foods

•             what to consider when using colouring foods in food and drink applications

•             labeling of Colouring Foods

•             how to distinguish between a colouring food and colour additives

By providing harmonized business practices and consistent regulatory interpretation, the Code supports the safe use of Colouring Foods.

For more details, watch our latest webinar on the NATCOL Code of Practice for the classification, manufacturing, use, and labeling of Colouring Foods.

You can find the full Code of Practice here.