Chapter 4 - Natural dyes and pigments in food and beverages

Abstract

Food colorants have been used since ancient times to increase the aesthetic value of foods and the level of demand by consumers. In addition, food colorants are widely used for many basic reasons such as revitalizing or intensifying the natural color of food and making it permanent, as well as preserving aroma and light-sensitive vitamins, as the consumer associates color with food quality. They can be divided into three groups as natural food colorants, nature-identical colorants synthesized by imitating natural ones, and artificial/synthetic colorants. The natural and synthetic food colorant market has become a growing sector. Today, although this sector has turned to the development and production of synthetic colorants due to their stability, attractive colors, and low costs, natural food colorants have started to attract much more attention in parallel with the changing lifestyle and increasing environmental sensitivity. This chapter deals with the colors, structures, physical and chemical properties, and health effects of the major natural food colorants and their technological uses in food systems.