Natural Colours 

DDW is a well-established manufacturer of naturally derived colours for the food industry. The products are generally available in a variety of colour strengths in both liquid and powder forms. With decades of experience, clients are assured of receiving professional and accurate information and advice on both the legality and practical application of their product range.

Anthocyanins are the mainly red pigments that are responsible for the colours of many edible fruits and berries. The majority of anthocyanins provide red and purple shades. Stability to heat and light is generally good. pH changes affect the shade and stability, and in general, they are used in products with pH below 4.5
They are particularly recommended for the colouring of soft drinks, jams, most types of sugar confectionery, and other acidic products, such as fruit toppings and sauces.

Beetroot Red is obtained by an aqueous extraction of red table beet. It provides an intense, bright red colour. The stability of Beetroot Red has certain limitations, but specially formulated products from DDW protect the colourant from some of these limitations.

Beetroot Red is an important colourant in short shelf-life, low moisture products such as flavoured milks, yoghurts, dry dessert mixes, and ice creams.

Carmine is obtained from the Coccus cacti insect, principally by a process of aqueous alkaline extraction. Carmine is chemically a very stable colourant unaffected by oxygen, light, sulphur dioxide, heat, and water activity. It may precipitate under low pH conditions.

Carmine provides a bright strawberry red shade. Carminic acid is a water soluble pigment that is stable in acidic conditions under which it provides an orange shade. Its chemical stability is similar to that of carmine.

Carmine and carminic acid are widely used colourants for beverages, table jellies, sugar confectionery, yoghurt, flavoured milks, meat products, flour confectionery, pickles, and sauces.

Annatto is obtained from the seeds of the annatto bush. The seeds provide two colourants, bixin which is oil soluble, and norbixin which is soluble in water. Both pigments are carotenoids and may, therefore, be adversely affected by light and oxygen. DDW offers a range of bixin and norbixin products, especially formulated for optimal stability and mixed with other colourants to ensure the precise yellow/orange shade required.

Norbixin has traditionally been the preferred colourant for cheeses, but it is also used in a variety of other applications like breadcrumbs, flour confectionery, dairy products, and ice cream.

The oil soluble bixin is used in cream fillings for biscuits, margarines, low-fat spreads. and other fat based systems.

Beta Carotene is a natural colourant providing a yellow to red shade. Nutritionally, it is valuable as a vitamin A precursor. It is stable to heat, pH, and sulphur dioxide. Its instability to light and oxygen can be overcome in some applications by its protection with ascorbic acid (vitamin C). It provides orange/yellow shades.

The FMC range of beta carotene products are available as liquids as well as powder formulations and are used in flour and sugar confectionery, beverages, pickles, sauces, salad dressings, jams, and dairy products.

Mixed Carotenes are natural products obtained by extraction from edible plants. The pigments are beta carotene and alpha carotene, providing a golden yellow shade. Beta Carotene shows stability and is used for the same applications.

Paprika is obtained from sweet, red peppers using a solvent extraction process to prepare the oleoresin. Paprika provides a rich orange/red hue depending on the concentration used. Although sensitive to oxidation, paprika is stable to heat and is unaffected by changes in pH.
Paprika is an important ingredient used in soups, pickles, meat products, sauces, breadcrumbs, and snack seasonings.

Curcumin is the principal pigment of the spice turmeric. Obtained from the plant to produce an oleoresin which is then purified, curcumin provides a bright, strong yellow colour in solution. It is extremely heat stable and acid stable. It shows poor stability when exposed to light and is sensitive to sulphur dioxide at levels in excess of 100 ppm.

Curcumin is used in a variety of applications including ice creams, sorbets, dairy products, dry mixes, and some types of sugar confectionery.

Lutein is a natural pigment extracted from marigold flowers (Tagetes erecta). It provides a yellow shade. It has good stability to heat and light, and is unaffected by pH; but it is somewhat sensitive to oxidation. Lutein is often used in place of curcumin when light sensitivity is an issue. Typical uses are mayonnaise, marzipan, beverages, dairy products, and sugar confectionary.

Chlorophylls are green pigments that are obtained by solvent extraction from three main sources: grass, alfalfa and nettles.

Copper chlorophyllin is obtained by the coppering of chlorophyll following its alkaline hydrolysis. The improved stability and brightness of copper chlorophyllin leads to a much wider use than chlorophyll as a food colour.
FMC is a major manufacturer of chlorophylls offering special formulations for optimal stability as well as for blending with other colourants, to ensure the exact green blue shade that is required.

Chlorophylls are especially useful in sugar confectionery, dairy products, sauces, pickles, jams, and dry mixes.

Other products

  • Carbon black

To learn more about DDW Colours, please visit www.ddwcolor.com