Synthetic or artificial food colorings are complex organic compounds that do not occur in pure form in nature. Synthetic food colorings have been already in usage in the food industry at the beginning of twentieth century. A distinctive feature of synthetic food colorings from natural is the lack of nutrients, flavor and vitamins. However, they have several significant advantages over the natural. Synthetic food colorings have more vivid and saturated color, they are not sensitive to the conditions of storage, have high heat resistance, are excellent water soluble. In addition, synthetic food colorings maintain a stable structure for a long time and have a huge variety of colors, which aren’t inherent to natural ones.
Generally synthetic food colorings easily dissolve even in cold water. The most common forms of their production are granules and powders, less water or alcohol solutions. Solubility of granular food colorings is lower than of powder. By chemical composition synthetic food colorings consist of 80-90% of the active coloring substance, the rest – supportive elements, to keep the substance in a stable condition.
Standard color gamma of synthetic food colorings is very limited. However, they can be mixed together, with new colors and tones. Synthetic food colorings which are used in pure form are called the individual. Substances obtained by mixing several different colors, are called mixed. Mixed colorings can be produced by own resources or purchases from suppliers. By mixing synthetic food colorings any tone of color can be obtained, you only need to know about the properties of each component. However, mixed food colorings have a structure that differs from each of the components. They are much less stable than the individual, have a lower thermal stability and more demanding of storage conditions.
Usage of synthetic food colorings
| Name of basic food coloring | Index E | Aqueous solution color |
|---|---|---|
| Tartrazine | Е 102 | yellow |
| Yellow quinolin | Е 104 | yellow |
| Sunset | Е 110 | orange |
| Karmuazin | Е 122 | from pink to cherry |
| Ponce | Е 124 | red |
| Charming red | Е 129 | red |
| Indigo carmine | Е 132 | blue |
| Brilliant Blue | Е 133 | blue |
Synthetic food colorings are used in the manufacture of all kinds of drinks and confectionery, cosmetics and animal feed to give the original “branded” color. They are also used in the production of fish and meat products (sausages, minced meat, etc.), bakery and confectionery products in order to make tastier look of product. Synthetic food colorings are also used to restore the color of products which was bleached in the production process (ketchup and tomato paste, potato chips, etc.).
To comply with the process it is recommended to use synthetic food colorings in the following doses:
| Product Type | The recommended dose of coloring, g/t of production | |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow, orange | Blue, red | |
| Non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages | 15-30 | 10-15 |
| Confectionery | 20-50 | 15-25 |
| Puree, jams | 30-50 | 10-30 |
Depending on the type and form synthetic food coloring have a shelf life of 1,5-3 years. To preserve the properties of the dyes they should be stored in a dry dark place, tightly packed. Recommended storage temperature is 10-30 ° C.
