Lycored’s natural colors don’t just look good – they are good

Lycored’s natural colors don’t just look good – they are good

Lycored, the global leader in carotenoids, has overcome the most common technical problems with natural colors to develop a range of vibrant reds, oranges and yellows that make it easy for food and beverage manufacturers to ditch artificial ingredients for good.

Natural colors from Lycored are certified Kosher and Halal, non-GMO, vegetarian and are heat, light and pH stable. They give an authentic appearance to a wide range of products time after time – but not at the expense of a clean label.

Available in the Lycored natural colorings range are two core offerings:

• Tomat-O-Red® – created using tomato-derived lycopene, it offers a more technically sound red coloring alternative to unstable beetroot and anthocyanins, as well as carmine, which is not vegetarian-friendly. It is perfect for use in fruit preparations, dairy products, confectionery, meat, baked goods and beverages. Lycored’s lycopene is highly stable under a wide range of pH, ascorbic acid and high-temperature conditions.
• Lyc-O-Beta® – sourced from Blakeslea trispora, a beta-carotene-rich, allergenfree natural fungus cultivated by Lycored. Natural beta-carotene extracted from Blakeslea Trispora offers a spectrum of yellow to orange shades for use in bakery, fillings, confectionery, dairy and beverages.

Both ingredients are available in liquid formats in a range of different formulations designed to deliver varying levels of color intensity. They are approved for use as food colorants in the US, EU, Japan and Australia.

Tomat-O-Red® and Lyc-O-Beta® offer specific application benefits. In beverages, they are light-stable and stable alongside added healthy ingredients such as Vitamin C. They are perfect for dairy products because they are stable in pasteurization and most UHT processes, and when used in fruit yogurts they will not bleed into the white mass. In confectionery, meanwhile, they offer a safe, natural and visually appealing color that will delight children.

In the US, meat producers are now also able to take advantage of the benefits of Tomat-O-Red® to enhance the appearance of their products, with the USDA having recently approved a five-fold increase in the level of tomato lycopene allowed as a colorant in ready-to-eat meat products. The increase, announced last fall, allows tomato lycopene colorants to replace FD&C Red #40 and carmine in a wide assortment of deli meats, sausage and hot dogs. As an added benefit, it can be declared on the label simply as “Lycopene from tomatoes”.

Tamara Higgins, Lycored’s Global Category Manager for Coloration, said: “There’s huge pressure on food and beverage manufacturers to use natural colors but this can cause a range of technical problems at the point of production. Our natural colors portfolio has been designed to offer the best of everything – naturalness and superb appearance, but not at the expense of performance and functionality. With our colors, your food and beverage products won’t just look fantastic, but they’ll also be natural, safe and stable – everything today’s retailers and consumers want and expect.”

Tomat-O-Red® and Lyc-O-Beta® natural colors are supplied with the assurance of full traceability because Lycored produces all of the raw materials used to make them. The lycopene in Tomat-O-Red® is extracted from tomatoes grown in Israel, while Lyc-OBeta ® is derived from Blakeslea Trispora cultivated by Lycored in carefully controlled
conditions.

Lycored has created a white paper containing more details about its natural colorings. To request a FREE copy, please email Christiane.lippert@lycored.com.

About Lycored
Committed to ‘Cultivating Wellness’, Lycored is an international company at the forefront of unearthing and combining nature’s nutrition potential with cutting edge science to develop natural ingredients and products. Established in 1995, Lycored is the global leader in natural carotenoids for food, beverage and dietary supplement products. The company develops and supplies natural ingredient formulations into four main business areas: active health ingredients for wellness; colourings; ingredients for taste & texture improvement; and nutrient premixes for fortification. Lycored is based in Israel, with sales & production operations in the UK, Switzerland, the US, Ukraine and China. For more information visit www.lycored.com.