Overcoming Challenges in the Production and Use of Biocolours

Imagine walking down the grocery aisle and picking up a brightly colored snack. That vibrant hue might have come from a plant, a microorganism, or even an insect. These are biocolours-natural pigments increasingly replacing synthetic dyes in our food supply. While consumer demand for these natural alternatives is predicted to grow by 7% annually, getting these colors from nature into food products isn’t as simple as it sounds. Food manufacturers face a complex web of challenges ranging from achieving the right shade to ensuring the color remains stable throughout a product’s shelf life.

The struggle for the perfect shade 🔗

One of the most frustrating challenges with biocolours is the limited spectrum of hues available compared to synthetic alternatives. While nature produces countless pigments, not all are suitable for food applications due to stability issues, extraction difficulties, or safety concerns.

Blue has been particularly problematic. Until recently, spirulina extract was the only FDA-approved natural blue colorant. This limited palette forces food scientists to get creative, often blending different natural pigments to create new shades or modifying pH levels to shift colors. Anthocyanins from berries, for example, change color with pH variations, offering some versatility but adding complexity to formulation.

Creating vibrant purples and stable greens presents similar difficulties. Microbial fermentation offers benefits like cheaper production and no seasonal variations, making microorganisms like bacteria and algae promising sources. However, even with these advantages, the color range remains narrower than what synthetic dyes provide.

Environmental sensitivity threatens product quality 🔗

Natural pigments are notoriously unstable. Unlike synthetic colors that remain vibrant through processing and storage, biocolours are highly sensitive to light, heat, oxygen, and pH changes. This sensitivity creates significant headaches for food manufacturers.

Anthocyanins from berries fade quickly when exposed to light and oxygen. Betalains from beetroot are highly temperature-sensitive and degrade during heating processes. Curcumin from turmeric has poor water solubility and degrades in neutral to alkaline conditions. Chlorophylls lose their vibrant green color when exposed to acids. These stability issues result in color fading, shifting, or becoming unevenly distributed in food products over time.

Advanced extraction techniques offer hope 🔗

Traditional extraction methods using water or organic solvents often yield low pigment quantities and require large amounts of raw materials. Newer techniques are changing this landscape, improving both efficiency and yield while reducing environmental impact.

Pulsed electric field technology 🔗

Pulsed electric field (PEF) technology uses short pulses of electricity to increase cell membrane permeability without damaging heat-sensitive compounds. This method improves extraction efficiency by facilitating solvent penetration into cells and allowing selective release of intracellular compounds without creating cell debris.

Research demonstrates PEF’s effectiveness for extracting pigments from various sources including microalgae and plant materials. The technique keeps energy consumption low, requires less solvent, and takes less time compared to conventional methods while achieving higher extraction yields.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction 🔗

Sonication, or ultrasound-assisted extraction, applies ultrasound waves to create cavitation bubbles that break down cell walls. This mechanical disruption improves mass transfer of pigments into extraction solvents, enhancing both yield and processing speed. The method has been successfully applied to extract pigments from various plant and microbial sources with reduced processing time and solvent consumption.

Gamma irradiation 🔗

Low-dose gamma radiation breaks down complex cell structures, making pigments more accessible for extraction. While this technique requires careful control and regulatory oversight, it offers another tool for improving extraction efficiency without using harsh chemicals or high temperatures that might degrade sensitive pigments.

These advanced techniques address both economic and environmental concerns by improving yield, reducing processing time, and lowering solvent consumption. However, scaling these technologies from laboratory to industrial production remains an ongoing challenge.

Navigating regulatory complexities 🔗

Regulatory approval represents a major hurdle for bringing new biocolours to market. The approval process is extensive, expensive, and time-consuming, requiring comprehensive safety data before any new colorant can be used in food products.

The FDA requires color additive petitions to include identity information, physical and chemical properties, toxicological data, manufacturing processes, stability data, analytical methods, and estimated exposure levels. These petitions can run thousands of pages long and take years to compile.

There’s no “generally recognized as safe” exemption for color additives-every substance capable of imparting color must undergo the full approval process regardless of its natural origin. This means even pigments traditionally used in food for centuries require modern safety testing before regulatory approval.

Recent regulatory shifts 🔗

The regulatory landscape is evolving rapidly. In 2025, the FDA announced an initiative to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes, recently approving three new natural color additives: Galdieria extract blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate. This shift creates both opportunities and pressures for the biocolour industry.

However, transitioning from synthetic to natural colors presents formulation challenges. Industry experts warn there isn’t enough natural color available today to replace the large volume of synthetic colors used in food products, and supply constraints due to agricultural limitations pose sustainability concerns.

The economic reality 🔗

Cost remains a significant barrier to widespread adoption of biocolours. Using natural colors is approximately five times more expensive than synthetic alternatives, and in confectionery applications, the cost can be twenty times higher. This price difference stems from several factors.

Substantial raw material requirements: Producing equivalent quantities of natural colors requires more raw materials than synthetic production. Higher dosages of natural colors are typically needed to achieve the desired hue, further increasing costs.

Processing complexity: Natural pigments have weaker tinctorial strength and may interact unpredictably with different food matrices, sometimes causing undesirable flavors or odors. Deodorization becomes necessary for many natural pigment products, adding another processing step and associated costs.

Formulation challenges: Shifting from synthetic to natural colors requires shade matching, addressing ingredient interactions, and ensuring color performance through processing and packaging. Each product reformulation requires careful consideration and testing.

Stabilization strategies show promise 🔗

Food technologists have developed several strategies to enhance biocolour stability and improve their practical application in food products.

Microencapsulation surrounds pigment particles with protective coatings using materials like maltodextrin, gum arabic, or modified starches. This shields biocolours from light, oxygen, heat, and humidity that cause degradation.

Co-pigmentation involves adding compounds that form complexes with pigments to enhance color intensity and stability. Flavonoids can act as co-pigments for anthocyanins, improving their performance in food systems.

Metal chelation stabilizes some pigments through complex formation with metal ions. Chlorophyllin copper complex exemplifies this approach, offering improved stability over natural chlorophyll.

Antioxidant addition protects pigments from oxidative degradation. Incorporating natural antioxidants like ascorbic acid or tocopherols can extend color stability, though careful formulation is needed as some antioxidants may have contradictory effects on different pigments.

Growing demand drives innovation 🔗

Despite these challenges, the momentum toward natural colorants continues to build. Consumer awareness about potential health concerns with synthetic colors, combined with desire for clean label products, pushes food manufacturers to seek natural alternatives.

Major food companies including General Mills, Kraft Heinz, and Nestlé have committed to eliminating synthetic colors from their product lines. This industry shift, combined with evolving regulations favoring natural ingredients, creates strong incentives for continued research and development in biocolour technology.

The convergence of consumer preferences, regulatory trends, and technological innovations creates a promising landscape for biocolours. While challenges remain in production costs, stability, and regulatory approval, advances in extraction techniques, stabilization methods, and metabolic engineering offer pathways forward. The food industry’s transition to natural colorants represents not just a regulatory compliance issue but a fundamental shift toward more sustainable and transparent food production.

What do you think? As natural colorants become more common, how might this shift affect the appearance and cost of your favorite foods? What trade-offs between natural ingredients and product characteristics seem reasonable to you?

References

1. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2019.00007/full
2. https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/color-additives-foods
3. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.551272/full
4. https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/fda-approves-three-new-natural-food-color-additives.html
5. https://www.supplysidefbj.com/food-beverage-regulations/food-dye-regulations-science-diverge-globally-as-fda-works-to-eliminate-synthetic-colorants
6. https://www.iff.com/media/stories/natural-food-color-in-focus-navigating-the-changing-regulatory-landscape/