Yoghurt and smoothie makers target of LycoRed colour line
The colours are suitable for dairy products with coloured fruit-based layers or stripes, whereby the colour of the fruit preparation base remains stable and does not bleed colour into the white dairy phase, said the company.
But the line can also be used in a range of dairy products from yoghurts, smoothies, desserts, hard cheeses and ice-cream, added the producer.
Roee Nir, colour and flavour global commercial manager at LycoRed, told this publication that a trial of the new range with a dairy multinational showed that it proved non-migratory in a two-tone strawberry and banana dessert targeted at children.
He stressed that stability during processing and throughout shelf life is one of the main issues the food industry faces when using natural colours. Formulation challenges can arise in this regard around stability to pH, light, temperature and oxidative degradation, and also through interactions with other ingredients.
Nir said that the Israel-headquartered group has managed to overcome these challenges with the natural carotenoid-derived hues, which, he added, are produced from a process that is also compliant with kosher and halal law.
Fortified dairy usage
And he said that LycoRed’s research around microencapsulation had also meant that the firm could test the new colours in a multi-vitamin and mineral yoghurt drink application, with no stability issues arising during the test phase.
The company stressed that as there is no adverse reaction to Vitamin C, the red colour is ideal for red fruit preparations.
Nir said that while the red and orange colours in the range are produced in liquid format, ideal for dairy applications, the yellow colour is only available in a powder format but that supplying a liquid version of this hue is a “priority project for the R&D team given that most manufacturers prefer to use the liquid format.”
Pricing is at a level that can compete with what is available on the market in terms of other supplier’s natural colour portfolios, said Nir, but he added that the LycoRed line is “definitely brining something new to the industry in terms of non-migration attributes."
