Abstract
Coloring concentrates of carotenoid-rich plant materials are currently used in the food industry to meet the consumer’s demand for natural substitutes for food colorants. The production of shelf-stable powders of such concentrates comes with particular challenges linked to the sensitivity of the active component towards oxidation and the complexity of the composition and microstructure of such concentrates. In this study, different strategies for the stabilization of crystalline carotenoids as part of a natural carrot concentrate matrix during drying and storage were investigated. The evaluated approaches included spray- and freeze drying, the addition of functional additives, and oxygen free storage. Functional additives comprised carrier material (maltodextrin, gum Arabic, and octenyl succinic anhydride (OSA)-modified starch) and antioxidants (mixed tocopherols, sodium ascorbate). Degradation and changes in the physical state of the carotenoid crystals were monitored during processing and storage. Carotenoid losses during processing were low (>5%) irrespective of the used technology and additives. During storage, samples stored in nitrogen showed the highest carotenoid retention (97–100%). The carotenoid retention in powders stored with air access varied between 12.3% ± 2.1% and 66.0% ± 5.4%, having been affected by the particle structure as well as the formulation components used. The comparative evaluation of the tested strategies allows a more targeted design of processing and formulation of functional carrot concentrate powders.
Highlights
With consumer demands shifting towards more natural ingredients and clean labeling, functional vegetable concentrates containing a high carotenoid content present an attractive coloring alternative to natural and artificial color additives
The present study investigated the stability of carotenoid crystals as part of a natural carrot matrix during the preparation of spray dried (SD) and freeze dried (FD) powders and during further storage
Powders were analyzed for their morphology (SEM, light microscopy) and particle size distribution (PSD) to evaluate the impact of the drying technology on the powder structure (Figure 3)
Summary
With consumer demands shifting towards more natural ingredients and clean labeling, functional vegetable concentrates containing a high carotenoid content present an attractive coloring alternative to natural and artificial color additives. Compared to the use of isolated carotenoids as food colorants, the advantage of “coloring foods” such as carrot concentrates, lies in the recovery without a solvent dependent, selective extraction step of the main coloring components, which is often perceived as more natural by consumers. The replacement of artificial colors with coloring vegetable concentrates comes with certain challenges, which are linked to the oxidative susceptibility and the crystalloid nature of the carotenoids as active ingredient as well as the complex matrix containing multiple carrot derived co-components [1,2]. In raw carrots (Daucus carota), most of the carotenoids are present in a crystalline state derived from accumulated carotenoid aggregation in carrot chromoplasts [4].
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