Color may be considered one of the most impressive and delightful attributes of foodstuffs, which directly influences preference, selection and eating desires of the consumers. To maintain or simply restore product color uniformity, coloring agents are intentionally added to food products. Thus, these agents belong to the food additive category of compounds
Color is one of the most significant factors that directly affects consumers' food choice and eating desires. Color is a visual feature that arises from the spectral distribution of the light. From a chemistry perspective, food coloring agents share the property to absorb light due to the conjugated double bonds they contain, creating a delocalized electron system. The number of conjugated double bonds is indicative of the wavelength of the absorbed light.
The formation of light occurs from the interaction of matter and light, and humans see wavelengths between 380-770 nm.
According to FDA, a food colorant is “any dye, pigment or substance which when added or applied to a food, drug or cosmetic, or to the human body, is capable (alone or through reactions with other substances) of imparting color”
FDA regulations require certified and exempt colors to be declared as “artificial color” or “artificial coloring” on the food labels.
It has been shown that the influence of color on food acceptability, choice, and preference comes more from education than any inherent psychophysical characteristics. Considering that:
*the brain associates color with flavor,
*the initial food perception occurs within the first 90 s of observation, and
*approximately 75% of the assessment is based on color, it is clear that if food color differs from the consumer’s expectation, flavor identification is decreased.
Two types of colorants:
Natural colorants
Synthetic colorants
Synthetic certified colors remain the most popular type of food colorings, as they are brighter, more uniform, better characterized, and of higher tinctorial strength, encompass a wider range of hues, and are less expensive than colors derived from nature.
Today, due to the development of the food industry, the need to colorize food products has increased for various reasons. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) defines colorants as substances added to color food or to correct the color of the food.
Food coloring
