Beverages

Color is the number one decisive factor for the sensory experience of the majority of food and beverages. It influences the consumer’s perception of flavor, taste, freshness, and desirability. If the color of a product doesn’t meet the consumer’s predetermined expectations, it is likely that a different product will be preferred.

In order to ensure that the product meets consumer expectations, synthetic colors are often added to food and beverages. The addition of these synthetic colors helps to offset the natural color loss caused by exposure to light and temperature/ moisture loss. They also assist to standardise natural color variation, enhance weak color hues in a product, or simply create a fun look for a food or beverage.

Although synthetic colors are considered to be more stable compared to their natural counterparts, some of them are still prone to color fading due to light exposure. Furthermore, more and more companies are converting from artificial colors to natural colors, both from a technical and commercial point of view.

Did you know?

Kemin plant biologists and agronomists have used conventional breeding technologies to develop spearmint. Kemin works in partnership with family farmers in Indiana who have grown mint for decades to produce and harvest our proprietary plants.

In order to prevent the colour degradation of food or beverages, manufacturers often add in an ingredient to delay color loss. Rosmarinic acid, commonly derived from rosemary and used in the beverage industry, can be used to

DELAY COLOR DEGRADATION

However, Kemin has found that spearmint contains more rosmarinic acid than other plant sources such as sage, oregano or rosemary.