FDA approves three natural food colours
According to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Chapter VII, section 721), colour additives must receive FDA approval to ensure their safety before being used in food.
USA – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three new colour additives derived from natural sources, broadening the options available for food manufacturers.
Following last month’s announcement by HHS and the FDA regarding petroleum-based food dyes, more U.S. food manufacturers have pledged to phase them out by the FDA’s deadline of the end of next year.
The approved colour additives include Galdieria extract blue, a blue colour sourced from the unicellular red algae Galdieria sulphuraria.
The FDA has authorized its use in various products, including breakfast cereal coatings, hard and soft candies, chewing gum, gelatin desserts, puddings, and custards. This petition was submitted by the French company Fermentalg.
The second additive is Butterfly pea flower extract, a blue colour that can produce a variety of shades, including bright blues, deep purples, and natural greens.
This colour is obtained through the water extraction of dried butterfly pea flower petals and is already approved for use in gums, candies, and coated nuts.
The approval from St. Louis-based Sensient Colours LLC extends its use to ready-to-eat cereals, crackers, snack mixes, hard pretzels, plain potato chips (both restructured and baked), plain corn chips, tortilla chips, and multigrain chips.
The third additive is Calcium phosphate, a white colour approved for use in white candy melts, doughnut sugar, and sugar for coated candies, among other products. The petition was filed by Innophos Inc. of Cranbury, NJ.
“Today marks a significant advancement in our efforts to improve public health. For too long, our food industry has depended on synthetic dyes made from petroleum, which provide no nutritional benefits and can pose health risks. We are eliminating these synthetic dyes and endorsing safe, natural alternatives to safeguard families and promote healthier choices,” stated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“I mentioned on April 22 that the FDA would soon approve several new colour additives and expedite the review of others. I am happy to report that we have kept our promises. Our team has been working diligently to finalize these decisions, demonstrating our commitment to moving away from petroleum-based dyes in the food supply and introducing new colours from natural sources,” said FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H.
The FDA assesses the safety of an additive by evaluating expected human dietary exposure, toxicological data, and other pertinent information, including published studies.
Once a colour additive petition is approved, any manufacturer can utilize the colouring for the specified applications.
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