A RED COLORANT COMPOSITION FOR FAT-BASED FOODS AND OILS
Colorant particles are provided which comprise an anthocyanin-based colorant extract from red sweet potato. The mean particle diameter (D 0, 9 ) of said particles provides good suspension stability. An oil-based colorant composition comprising said particles is provided, as is a food product comprising the oil-based colorant composition.
1 . Colorant particles comprising anthocyanin-based colorant extract from red sweet potato, said colorant particles having a mean particle diameter (D 0.9 ) of less than 20 μm.
2 . The colorant particles according to claim 1 , wherein the colorant extract comprises at least one pelargonidin-based anthocyanine.
3 . The colorant particles according to claim 1 , wherein the red sweet potato is Ipomoea batatas.
4 . An oil-based colorant composition, being a suspension of (a) colorant particles according to claim 1 , suspended in a mixture of (b) an edible oil and (c) an emulsifier.
5 . The colorant composition according to claim 4 , comprising the colorant particles in an amount of 0.1-55 weight %, preferably in an amount of 10-50 weight %.
6 . The colorant composition according to claim 4 , comprising the emulsifier in an amount of 0.1-5 weight %, preferably in an amount of 0.1-3 weight %, such as in an amount of 1.5 to 3 weight %.
7 . The colorant composition according to claim 4 , comprising the edible oil in an amount of less than 70 weight % such as less than 60 weight %, preferably in an amount of 40-60 weight %, more preferably 57-59 weight %.
8 . The colorant composition according to claim 4 , wherein the emulsifier is a non-ionic emulsifier, preferably a fatty acid ester or fatty acid amide of a polyalcohol, more preferably a fatty acid ester of a polyalcohol.
9 . The colorant composition according to claim 8 , wherein the polyalcohol is selected from glycerol, sorbitan, ethoxylated sorbitan, glucose, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol or amine derivatives thereof.
10 . The colorant composition according to claim 4 , having a red color with a hue value H in the L*C*h color system in the range of 5-30, preferably 8-20, and an L*-value of 60.0-71.0.
11 . The colorant composition according to claim 4 , further comprising color extracted from black carrot.
12 . A method for producing the oil-based colorant composition according to claim 4 , the method comprising the steps of:
a. blending an edible oil, an emulsifier and raw colorant particles comprising anthocyanin-based colorant extract from red sweet potato; said raw colorant particles having a mean particle diameter (D 0.9 ) greater than 20 μm;
b. milling the blend from step a. such that the colorant particles obtain a mean particle diameter (D0.9) of less than 20 μm, thereby providing the oil-based colorant composition of claim 4 .
13 . The method according to claim 12 , wherein the edible oil is selected from the group consisting of sunflower oil, soya oil, coconut oil, canola oil, olive oil, palm oil, corn oil and mixtures thereof, and/or wherein the emulsifier is as defined in claim 8 and/or the colorant particles are as defined in claim 1 .
14 . A food product comprising the oil-based colorant composition according to claim 4 .
15 . The food product according to claim 14 , being selected from the group consisting of dairy food products, fruit preparations, snack-foods and confectionery, preferably snack foods or baked goods.
16 . A method for producing a food product according to claim 14 said method comprising the steps of:
i. blending an edible oil, an emulsifier and raw colorant particles comprising an anthocyanin-based colorant extract from red sweet potato, the raw colorant particles being in particle form with a mean particle diameter (D 0.9 ) greater than 20 μm;
ii. milling the blend from step i. to provide the oil-based colorant composition of claim 4 , and;
iii. formulating the oil-based composition in or on the food product.