Formulating natural colors in dairy foods

Consumer awareness of natural colorings in dairy foods is important. But coloring milk and dairy foods is a tricky proposition. Never fear. We look at red, yellow, blue and green color options for milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream.

Colored yogurt — Color manufacturers are fast at work formulating naturally sourced colorants that can stand up to the chemistry, processing conditions and shelf-life demands of dairy.

Colored ice cream — Even indulgences like ice cream benefit from dairy's inherently healthy halo, and that makes "natural" (or, strictly speaking, "exempt") colorants a natural fit for formulation.

Yogurt — The popularity of yogurt (which wears a healthy halo) has driven dairy processors to search for equally healthy-sounding color ingredients derived from fruit and vegetable sources.

Colored dairy drinks — High-heat treatments like UHT, HTST and even good old-fashioned retorting can threaten some exempt colorants' stability, underscoring the importance of working with a colorant supplier to match ingredient choice to dairy application.

Starbucks probably thought it was doing the right thing by coloring its Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino with carmine. After all, even if consumers didn’t realize it when they ordered the popular dairy-berry beverage from their friendly neighborhood barista, the coffee giant had them in mind in opting for this natural colorant over a synthetic like, say, FD&C Red #40.

But as Starbucks soon learned, not all natural colors are created equal. Yes, the Food and Drug Administration exempts carmine red (also called cochineal extract) from the FD&C certification process that governs manmade food colorants. And, yes, carmine is derived from an all-natural source. But that all-natural source happens to be the pulverized body of a pregnant Latin American beetle.

Minor detail, of course, but when it went viral earlier this year, it caused a major maelstrom. Never mind that carmine has a long track record as a safe and effective red colorant. Vegetarians and adherents to kosher and halal dietary restrictions — not to mention the insect-averse — felt duped upon learning that a drink they thought played by their rules simply didn’t.

But there’s a happy ending to this story. For if “Frappucino-gate” illustrates the complexity of coloring dairy products naturally, it also shows how today’s color industry is improving the range of naturally derived colorants designed to do just that. After all, not long after the controversy erupted, Starbucks found a suitable solution to its coloring conundrum. With an appreciation of coloring regulations and the unique properties of dairy, so can you.