Certified Synthetic Colors: A Guide to Their Uses and Benefits
Certified synthetic colors, or artificial colors, are used to color food and beverage products for various industrial applications. These synthetic colors are derived from coal-tar and petroleum-based chemicals. This blog post will walk you through the top 5 certified synthetic colors for food & beverage products.
Sunset yellow, brilliant blue, allura red, brilliant blue, and indigo carmine are a few examples of top-certified synthetic colors. The importance of synthetic dyes or colors are popular because they are less expensive and provide a more effective intense and vibrant color. Synthetic dyes are best known for providing a comprehensive range of dyes and hues.
Whether you are a business owner or an individual professional wondering about the top 5 certified synthetic colors for food & beverage products, continue reading this blog further.
What are Certified Synthetic Colors?
Certified synthetic colors, known as certified color additives, colorants, or coloring agents derived from coal tar and chemical reactions approved by the FDA for use in food, drugs, and cosmetics. The US FDA regulates the use of certified synthetic colors or permitted synthetic dyes to ensure they meet rigorous testing and quality standards.
A color additive is any dye, pigment, or other substance used to impart color to foods, drugs, or cosmetics. Color additives are essential components that make products more attractive, appealing, and appetizing.
Importance of Certified Synthetic Colors
Certified synthetic colors are important because they play a crucial role in adding vivid and bright colors with different hues and shades, making products more appealing and pleasing to the eye. Here are some reasons why certified synthetic colors are important:
- Uniform and intense
Certified synthetic colors are best known for producing a uniform and consistent color that can be easily blended into different hues.
- Correct color variations
They can easily balance color loss when coming in contact with temperature, light, air, moisture, and storage conditions.
- Appetizing
They add desired colors to food and drinks, making them visually appealing and attractive, resulting in improved enjoyment.
- Batch certified
The FDA analyzes and measures the quality of these colorants to ensure they meet its stringent security protocols and specifications.
- Less expensive
These certified colorants are more cost-efficient than natural colors.
- Resistant to light and pH
They have greater self-life and high color stability, making them stay longer than natural ones.
The FDA also inspects the establishments of owners of certified batches. During these inspections, the FDA examines records of use and takes samples from certified batches for analysis.
Now that you understand what is certified synthetic colors and their importance for businesses, let’s understand the top 5 certified colors used for food & beverage products.
Top 5 Certified Synthetic Colors for Food & Beverage Products
Synthetic color additives, also called certified synthetic colors, are subject to batch certification. This process involves analyzing a representative sample of each batch by the FDA to ensure that it complies with the required identity and specifications before it is approved for use.
FDA analysts analyze the chemical composition of batches before they certify them. Here are the top 5 certified synthetic colors for food & beverage products:
- FD&C Blue No. 1
FD&C Blue No. 1 is a synthetic organic dye, also known as Brilliant Blue FCF used as a coloring agent for providing color to food, drugs, cosmetics, and dietary supplements. This color is classified as triaryl methane, a water-soluble dye with a green-blue hue.
FD&C Blue No. 1 is widely used in various food & beverages, such as cereals, frozen dairy desserts, confections, popsicles, frostings & icings.
- FD&C Blue No. 2
FD&C Blue No. 2 is also known as indigotin or indigo blue, a synthetic version of indigo, a kind of dye derived from natural resources, such as plants, trees, vegetables, or minerals. On the other hand, Indigotine is a coal-tar or petroleum-based chemical with the chemical formula C16H10N2O2.
The use of FD&C Blue No. 2 is widespread in cherries, cereals, baked goods, ice cream, snack foods, confections, and yogurt.
- FD&C Green No. 3
FD&C Green No. 3, also known as Fast Green FCF, Food Green 3, Green 1724, or Solid Green FCF, is a turquoise triarylmethane food dye most commonly used in food & beverage products. This certified synthetic food dye is used in ice cream, drinks, sherbet, cereal, and baked goods.
- FD&C Red No. 3
FD&C Red No. 3, also known as Erythrosine FD&C Red No. 3 Acid Red 51 is an organoiodine compound, which is a derivative of fluorone. It produces a pink dye primarily used for food coloring. The use of FD&C Red No. 3 can be seen in various food & beverage products, including ice cream, cereals, confections, cones, popsicles, frostings & icings, and frozen dairy desserts.
- FD&C Yellow No. 5
FD&C Yellow No. 5, also known as tartrazine is a synthetic food dye most commonly used in various food & beverage products, including snack foods, baked goods, cereals, confections, condiments, yogurt, and more.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that certified synthetic colors are not only popular for use in various food & beverage products but also in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. These synthetic colors or colorants make products more appealing and attractive to consumers and add significant value to businesses.
If you are a business or individual professional looking for more information on a wide range of certified synthetic colors for food & beverage products, look no further than Hridhan Chem. Hridhan Chem is a leading manufacturer and exporter of premium-quality synthetic dyes and pigments. Get in touch with our chem experts today!
