20/02/08 D.D. Williamson has announced the development of a new, naturally derived blue colorant created by its strategic partner, colorMaker, Inc. (Anaheim, California). The colorant is available in either liquid or powdered form. The new colorant achieves an industry breakthrough by enabling food product developers to obtain a shelf-stable natural blue hue at a lower pH than conventional anthocyanin colorants. This innovation will increase the range of foods that can be formulated with a natural (non-synthetic) blue colorant.  
 
The new, water-soluble natural blue colorant, derived from anthocyanins extracted from vegetable juice, was awarded US Patent No. 7279189. Anthocyanins (whether derived from fruit or vegetable sources) exhibit a reversible molecular structural change -- from red to purple to blue -- as the pH of their environment changes from acidic to basic. The new, water-soluble natural blue colorant exhibits a shelf-stable blue hue at pH 5.5 to 8.0; whereas, anthocyanins normally demonstrate a faded and unstable purple hue at pH 5.5.
 
In addition, colorMaker has developed naturally derived, water-soluble green colorants by adding a variety of yellow colorants to its natural blue colorant.
 
ColorMaker and D.D. Williamson offer natural food colorants standardized for strength, stabilized for safety, and validated for quality that improve the allure of foods and beverages through visual appeal. D.D. Williamson is the exclusive global distributor of colorMaker’s natural color blends.

Natural blue colors have hit the headlines in recent weeks, after it emerged that Nestle would bring back their distinctive blue Smartie, following a natural reformulation in response to consumer campaigns for a return of the sweet. After an extensive search for a natural colored dye, Nestle said it had found a way to create the blue sweet, using no artificial colors and flavors, by extracting the blue coloring from a seaweed called spirulina.