Abstract
Food waste management plays a central role in the circular economy. To our knowledge, only a few studies have investigated the use of unsold fruit and vegetables from supermarkets as a substitute source for the extraction of natural colorants. Thus, the aim of this paper was to suggest a green, tailored protocol that avoids the use of organic solvents for the recovery of betalains from unsold red beets for use as a food colorant. The recovery of such pigments was carried out by a tailored enzymatic mix, blended considering the polysaccharide composition of the beetroot cell wall; thus, it consisted of: cellulase (37%), xylanase (35%), and pectinase (28%). The enzyme-assisted extraction protocol was optimized, and the most suitable conditions (in terms of pigment yield and color attributes) for the recovery of betalains from unsold beets appeared to be: 25 U/g total dose of enzymatic mix, temperature 25 °C, and processing time 240 min.
Highlights
Color is a distinctive characteristic of food and beverages
The main chemico-physical parameters (in wet weight basis) of red beets were consistent with those reported in the literature [21] and were as below: moisture 89 ± 1%wwb ; dry matter (DM) ± 1%wwb ; pH 6.11 ± 0.01; titratable acidity (TA) 0.14 ± 0.03; and total sugar content of g/100 gwwb
These data demonstrate that the red beet used had the optimal ripening stage, which corresponds to the highest betalain amount [28]
Summary
Color is a distinctive characteristic of food and beverages. It is considered a quality indicator that affects their appeal to consumers [1]. Many foods are prone to color loss, requiring the addition of colorants to restore it [2]. The demand for natural pigments (believed to be less harmful than synthetic colorants) is increasing worldwide [3]. Coloring foodstuffs are considered ingredients, and can be indicated as “coloring fruit- and plant extracts” on food labels. Other additives must be declared by an E-number [3]. In this context, the global market for natural food coloring (USD 3.71 billion in 2017) is expected to grow at a Compound
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