Rationale Behind Certasure
Typically I like to write about key industry issues, consumer insights, and other news rather than anything specific to Sensient. A colleague of mine recently suggested that this has been the year of the natural color announcement. And there is certainly something to that statement. But it has also been a year where food safety issues have been in the news. Since the use of natural colors inherently increases the potential food safety risks, I decided it was worth writing about our new Certasure natural color certification program. The elements of Certasure follow the key recommendations developed by Dr. James Simon and the Committee on Standards for Natural Colors. You can download a summary of the committee’s work here.
The essence of Certasure is pretty simple. It covers all plant-based, natural color sources and combines stringent quality testing, comprehensive vendor certification, full raw material traceability, and best manufacturing practices to ensure every batch of color meets safety, authenticity, and quality requirements.
Why is this important? Because while consumers are increasingly looking for colors from botanical sources like vegetable juices, they are also expecting us to provide them with colors that are safe, pure, and authentic. We test every batch for the following:
- Pesticides
- Heavy Metals
- Unauthorized Solvents
- Pathogens
- Adulteration
In the next few months, you will begin to see our Certasure “shield” appear on specification sheets and on our packaging. Please let me know if you have thoughts about how we as an industry can build trust with consumers.
