Are You Sure About the Food Safety of Your Natural Colouring?

The naturalness trend is omnipresent, driving a global move of food and drink products towards natural colouring. For example, in countries like Germany, France or Poland between ⅓ – ½ of consumers consider “no artificial ingredient” as the most important factor when looking for healthy ingredients in their food and drink choice, Mintel reports. In the USA, “Ingredients in Food” and “Food Safety” are among the top three most searched food-related topics per 2018 search engine data from The Center for Food Integrity (CFI). In the same year, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published a study, which concludes that 86% of European consumers are fairly worried or very worried about certain issues in their food, such as:

Source: Etienne, J. et. al., EU Insights – Consumer perceptions of emerging risks in the food chain, EFSA, 18.04.2018- doi:10.2903/sp.efsa.2018.EN-1394 ICF

The demand for simpler, more natural food ingredients continues to grow. The need for safe products and clear communication to consumers about colours from natural sources has never been more important. Formulating with plant-based ingredients inherently adds a layer of complexity to food safety controls. Food Safety issues related specifically to natural food colours can have a negative impact on all stakeholders. Some examples include:
In this era where online influencers can instantly disseminate news and opinions through social media channels, brands need to be more diligent than ever in protecting the trust and equity that has been earned.

So Do You Really Know What’s in Your Natural Colour?

At Sensient, our Certasure™ program includes the industry’s most comprehensive food safety testing protocols to not only provide full supply chain visibility but also brand protection. If product developers ever ask “what’s in my natural colour?” Sensient is able to provide a thorough response that ensures the colour’s safety and authenticity. If you would like to know more, watch this video with three real examples of food safety concerns discovered using the Certasure™ process:  

The essence of Certasure™ is peace of mind. It covers all plant-based, natural colour sources and combines stringent quality testing, comprehensive vendor certification, full raw material traceability, and best manufacturing practices to ensure the natural colouring meets safety, authenticity, and quality requirements. In order to provide colours that are safe, pure, and authentic, we test for the following: