Editing Food coloring (section)

==Natural food dyes==
===History===
The addition of colorants to foods is thought to have occurred in Egyptian cities as early as 1500 BC, when candy makers added natural extracts and wine to improve the products' appearance.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |author= Meggos, H. |title= Food colours: an international perspective |encyclopedia= The Manufacturing Confectioner |pages= 59–65 |year= 1995 }}</ref> During the [[Middle Ages]], the economy in the European countries was based on agriculture, and the peasants were accustomed to producing their own food locally or trading within the village communities. Under feudalism, aesthetic aspects were not considered, at least not by the vast majority of the generally very poor population.<ref name="Arlt">{{cite web |last= Arlt |first= Ulrike |title= The Legislation of Food Colours in Europe |publisher= The Natural Food Colours Association |date= 29 Apr 2011 |url= http://www.natcol.org/node/19 |access-date= 18 Feb 2014 |archive-date= April 2, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150402174212/http://www.natcol.org/node/19 |url-status= dead }}</ref> This situation changed with urbanization at the beginning of the [[Modern Age]], when trade emerged—especially the import of precious spices and colors. One of the first food laws, created in Augsburg, Germany, in 1531, concerned spices or colorants and required [[saffron]] counterfeiters to be [[Death by burning|burned to death]].<ref name="cook">{{cite journal |last= Cook |first= Jim |title= Colorants Compliance |journal= The World of Food Ingredients |issue= Sept 2013 |pages= 41–43 |issn= 1566-6611 }}<!--|access-date= 18 Feb 2014--></ref>[[Image:13-08-31-wien-redaktionstreffen-EuT-by-Bi-frie-037.jpg|thumb|The orange color of carrots and many other fruits and vegetables arises from carotenoids.]]

===Natural colorants===
Carotenoids (E160, E161, E164), [[chlorophyllin]] (E140, E141), anthocyanins (E163), and [[betanin]] (E162) comprise four main categories of plant pigments grown to color food products.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Rodriguez-Amaya | first1 = Delia B | year = 2016 | title = Natural food pigments and colorants | journal = Current Opinion in Food Science | volume = 7 | pages = 20–26 | doi = 10.1016/j.cofs.2015.08.004 | s2cid = 93008250 }}</ref> Other colorants or specialized derivatives of these core groups include:
* [[Annatto]] (E160b), a reddish-orange dye made from the seed of the [[achiote]]
* [[Caramel coloring]] (E150a-d), made from caramelized sugar
* [[Carmine]] (E120), a red dye derived from the [[cochineal]] insect, ''[[Dactylopius coccus]]''
* [[Elderberry]] juice (E163)
* [[Lycopene]] (E160d)
* [[Paprika oleoresin|Paprika]] (E160c)
* [[Turmeric]]/curcumin (E100)
* [[Calcium phosphate]]<ref name="fda1">{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-three-food-colors-natural-sources|title=FDA Approves Three Food Colors from Natural Sources|publisher=[[FDA]]|lang=en}}</ref>, a white mineral[https://apnews.com/article/fda-food-dyes-natural-color-additives-897923a5969b636e0eee848982906014]
* [[Galdieria]] extract<ref name="fda1"/>, a blue color derived from algae [https://apnews.com/article/fda-food-dyes-natural-color-additives-897923a5969b636e0eee848982906014]
* [[Clitoria ternatea|Butterfly pea flower]] extract<ref name="fda1"/>, a blue color made from dried flower petals [https://apnews.com/article/fda-food-dyes-natural-color-additives-897923a5969b636e0eee848982906014]

Blue colors are rare.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Newsome | first1 = A. G. | last2 = Culver | first2 = C. A. | last3 = van Breemen | first3 = R. B. | year = 2014 | title = Nature's palette: the search for natural blue colorants | journal = J Agric Food Chem | volume = 62 | issue = 28| pages = 6498–6511 | doi = 10.1021/jf501419q | pmid = 24930897 | bibcode = 2014JAFC...62.6498N }}</ref> The pigment [[genipin]], present in the fruit of ''[[Gardenia jasminoides]]'', can be treated with amino acids to produce the blue pigment gardenia blue, which is approved for use in Japan, but not the EU or the US.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Coultate | first1 = T. | last2 = Blackburn | first2 = R.S. | year = 2018 | title = Food colorants: their past, present and future | url = http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/126336/3/Food%20colorants%20review%20final%20accepted%20version.pdf| journal = Coloration Technology | volume = 134 | issue = 3| pages = 165–186 | doi = 10.1111/cote.12334 | s2cid = 103965612 }}</ref>

To ensure reproducibility, the colored components of these substances are often provided in highly purified form. For stability and convenience, they can be formulated in suitable carrier materials (solid and liquids). [[Hexane]], [[acetone]], and other [[solvents]] break down cell walls in the fruit and vegetables and allow for maximum extraction of the coloring. Traces of these may still remain in the finished colorant, but they do not need to be declared on the product label. These solvents are known as carry-over ingredients.

===Chemical structures of representative natural colorants===
<gallery widths="170" heights="120" caption="Food colorants, natural">
File:Betanin.svg|Betanin, a magenta dye, mainly produced from beets
File:Anthocyanidine.svg|Anthocyanin, a red to blue dye depending on functional groups and pH
File:Beta-Carotin.svg|Beta-carotene, a yellow to orange colorant
</gallery>