New Line of Natural Colors Addresses Stability Concerns

Food Ingredient Solutions (Teterboro, NJ) has launched FISclear, a line of transparent, stable microemulsion colors, extracts, and oils made from paprika, beta-carotene, carotenal, lycopene, carrot oil, palm carotene, and canthaxanthin.

The company says the line successfully addresses a frequently cited complaint regarding natural colors-a lack of stability. To overcome this, with FISclear, the company uses emulsification and encapsulation techniques to increase the stability of the natural colors. FISclear employs GMO-free emulsifiers to produce emulsions with particle sizes in the 50-100 nm range. The company says that at this size, emulsions are often stable for years. The line also offers good clarity.

The initial line includes astaxanthin, beta-carotene (nature and nature-identical), apo-carotenal, carrot oil, lycopene, palm carotene, and paprika microemulsions. The company says these produce colors in a wide range of shades-from pale to greenish yellow and various peach, orange, and pink tones, to a deep, rich red.

The company uses naturally acylated fruit and vegetable sources for anthocyanin colors, such as red cabbage, purple sweet potato, red radish, and, to a lesser degree, black carrot, which the company says are considerably more stable than traditional colors from elderberry, grape, and hibiscus.