Colorants annatto

Exempt colorants are made up of a wide variety of organic and inorganic compounds representing the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. Some, like -carotene and 2inc oxide, are essentially pure factory-produced chemicals of definite and known composition. Others, including annatto extract, cochineal extract, caramel, and beet powder are mixtures obtained from natural sources and have somewhat indefinite compositions. 

The colorant is prepared by leaching the annatto seeds with an extractant prepared from one or more approved, food-grade materials taken from a hst that includes various solvents, edible vegetable oils and fats, and alkaline aqueous and alcohoHc solutions (46,47). Depending on the use intended, the alkaline extracts are often treated with food-grade acids to precipitate the annatto pigments, which ia turn may or may not be further purified by recrystallization from an approved solvent. Annatto extract is one of the oldest known dyes, used siace antiquity for the coloring of food, textiles, and cosmetics. It has been used ia the United States and Europe for over 100 years as a color additive for butter and cheese (48—50). 

The chief coloring principle found ia the oil or fat extracts of annatto seeds is the carotenoid hixin (36, R = UH3) (Cl Natural Orange 4, Cl No. 

Annatto extract is sold ia several physical forms, including dry powders, propylene glycol/monoglyceride emulsions, oil solutions and suspensions, and alkaline aqueous solutions containing anywhere from 0.1—30% active colorant calculated as bixia, norhixin, as appropriate. It... 

Alone, beet colorant produces hues resembling raspberry or cherry. When used ia combination with water-soluble annatto, strawberry shades result. 

Hnnatto Food Colors Charles Hansen s Laboratory, Milwaukee, Wis. A brief description of what annatto is and how it is used. 

In addition to the U.S. certified coal-tar colorants, some noncertified naturally occurring plant and animal colorants, such as alkanet, annatto [1393-63-17, carotene [36-884] C qH, chlorophyll [1406-65-17, cochineal [1260-17-9] saffron [138-55-6] and henna [83-72-7], can be used in cosmetics. In the United States, however, natural food colors, such as beet extract or powder, turmeric, and saffron, are not allowed as cosmetic colorants. 

Later it was found growing in South America where the Indians used the red dye from the seeds as a body paint. An extract of the seeds appears on the market as annatto. This extract is used in coloring butter, margarine, and cheese such as Leicester cheese. In Mexican and South American cuisine, it finds special use as a flavor and coloring matter. The seeds are sold under the name achiote in many Latin grocery stores and markets. Ann at o is available as an aqueous solution, as an oleaginous dispersion, and a spray-dried powder. 

Some colors are nutrients in their own right, and they have antioxidant properties that are beneficial to health. Beta-carotene, annatto, saffron, and turmeric all have these good properties in addition to their color. In fact, the same chemistry that makes them absorb light also helps them to absorb and neutralize dangerous oxygen free radicals in the body. 

Annatto is a colored pigment that is extracted from the Central and South American plant Bixa orellana. The color comes from the resinous outer covering of the seeds of the plant, which is composed of the carotenoid pigments bixin and norbixin and their esters. The central portion of those molecules is the same as that of the molecule beta-carotene, and the yellow-orange color of annatto comes from the same physical chemistry origins as the orange color of beta-carotene. 

Annatto provides color in cheese, butter, margarine, and microwave popcorn. It is often used as a substitute for the expensive herb saffron. It also has antioxidant properties. 

Because annatto binds well to the proteins in dairy foods, it is often used to add color to milk products such as butter, cheese, or puddings. 

Beta-carotene is used in foods to provide color (margarine would look as white as vegetable shortening without it). Another similar molecule, annatto, is used in cheeses. Another famous carotenoid dye, saffron, is used to color rice and other foods. 

Saffron is a spice that is used sometimes for flavor, but mostly for the yellow color it imparts to foods. Because of its expense, saffron is often replaced in recipes by another carotenoid, annatto, or the unrelated dye molecule in turmeric. Like the other carotenoid dyes, saffron is an antioxidant, but its expense makes it unsuitable as a preservative or dietary supplement. 

Mercadante, A.Z., Composition of carotenoids from annatto, in Chemistry and Physiology of Selected Food Colorants, Ames, J.M. and Hofmann, T.E., Eds., ACS Symposium Series 775, Washington, 2001, chap. 6. 

Colorant containing annatto and Ca caseinate as carrier mixed with water to be added directly to cheese milk yielding uniform colored cheese mass Water-dispersible beadlet of p-carotene is mixed with oil to attein composition that remains stable even in presence of polyphosphates and with antioxidant action even in absence of ascorbic acid Blending carotenoid pigment and soybean fiber (wifii tomato juice) as effective ingredient for dispersion stability... 

Annatto colors (C.I. 75120) E 100 2% norbixin Annatto extract, water, Yellow-orange Cheeses, ice cream, bakery products... 

Detailed information about carotenoids found in food or extracted from food and evaluated for their potential as food colorants appeared in Sections 4.2 and 6.2. We would like to mention some new data about the utilization of pure carotenoid molecules or extracts as allowed food additives. Looking to the list of E-coded natural colorants (Table 7.2.1), we can identify standardized colorants E160a through f, E 161a, and E161b as natural or semi-synthetic derivatives of carotenoids provided from carrots, annatto, tomatoes, paprika, and marigold. In addition, the extracts (powders or oleoresins) of saffron, - paprika, and marigold are considered more economical variants in the United States and European Union. 

Use of the natural color and food color terms is not permitted because they may indicate that a color occurs naturally. The acceptable descriptions include artificial color, artificial color added, and color added but they do not provide any real benefit. A preferred description is to note that a product is colored with, then name the color source, e.g., annatto. If the name of the specific color is not included, the label declaration must also state artificially colored or artificial color addedf ... 

The natnral colorants used often for bakery products are annatto extract or annatto plus turmeric blends (0.02 to 0.06 %) to obtain yellow-orange shades. Crackers are colored with annatto extract, turmeric and paprika oleoresins, or caramel. Turmeric may be used also in combination with FD C colorants. 

Francis, F. J., Food colorants anthocyanins, Crit. Rev. Food ScL Nutr., 28, 273, 1987. Evans, W.C., Annatto a natural choice. Biologist, 47, 181, 2000. 

Shumaker, E.K. and Wendorff, W.L., Factors affecting pink discoloration in annatto-colored pasteurized process cheese, J. Food ScL, 63, 828, 1998. 

ANLAB40 color difference scale, 7 321 ANLAB color difference scale, 7 321 Annatto, 24 561... 

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