Boosting betalains: Ginkgo Bioworks and Phytolon partner to expand natural food color spectrum

01 Feb 2024 --- Israeli biotech firm Phytolon and Ginkgo Bioworks have used fermentation to formulate natural food colors encompassing the full-color palette of the yellow-to-purple spectrum. The ingredients are pegged as safe, sustainable, cost-effective alternatives to synthetic dyes amid rising regulatory concerns and consumer demand for natural products.

The move bolsters the companies’ ongoing multi-product collaboration to produce natural food pigments using cell engineering. Phytolon will now scale its array of food colorants for the global market.

“The basic intellectual property that we own enables us to be the first to fully leverage the potential of a class of pigments, named betalains, that appear in nature in various shades ranging from purple to yellow, including pink, red, and orange shades. These pigments give plants, like beets and cactus fruits, for example, their bright colors,” Halim Jubran, CEO and co-founder of Phytolon, tells Food Ingredients First.

“This achievement enables us, not only to provide food brands with clean label solutions, but also to capture economic value, given the high production efficiency and low manufacturing costs compared with plant extracts that are used today as natural colors.”

The natural pigments are formulated by fermentation of baker's yeast as the vehicle (Image credit: Ginkgo Bioworks).Ginkgo Natural Product Services has enhanced the efficiency of Phytolon's yeast strains, ensuring the consistent and robust production of sustainable food colors via two producing strains.

“We use fermentation of baker's yeast as the vehicle to produce our natural pigments. Once the pigments are released from the yeast cells, they are subject to standard preparation steps (DSP and formulation) that qualify them to be applied in food,” he explains.

Sustainability promoting fermentation
Using artificial dyes in food has raised health concerns in various markets around the world with some recent notable bans in this domain. Titanium dioxide, a white coloring used in confectionery and other categories, has been banned in the EU. The prohibition has led to companies innovating alternatives to what was once a key whitening ingredient. 

Last October, California became the first state in the US to ban certain chemicals, including red dye No. 3, which has been linked to cancer and behavioral problems in children.

There are concerns regarding the potential adverse effects linked to the ingredients, encompassing worries about hyperactivity in children, cancer and allergic reactions.

The natural food colors can be used in snacks, dairy, ice cream, frozen novelties and alternative meat (Image credit: Phytolon).“This further promotes the trends for making our food system healthier. On the other hand, with natural and healthy colors, consumers end up compromising on sustainability when using plant extracts.”

Association with agriculture-based methods, high GHG, land use, and carbon footprint are some reasons he points out.

“The trend for turning our food system into a more sustainable system promotes fermentation-based production of natural food colors.”

Meanwhile, the growing demand for alternative protein and dairy gives natural colors a central role in enabling the full experience for these innovations, he underscores.

"The basic recipes for plant-based meat and alternative dairy yields colorless products which require natural and sustainable coloring, to align with the concept and performance standards."

Phytolon’s ingredients have found applications in an array of food segments like bakery, confectionery, savory (including processed meat, alternative meat, snacks, and more), dairy, ice cream and frozen novelties.

Colors under the lens
The natural food coloring market is witnessing an upward trend and is predicted to evolve rapidly at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2023 to 2033. The market stood at US$ 2 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach US$ 4.1 billion by the end of 2033.

The growth can be attributed to the increasing intensification of regulations on synthetic dyes, which drives consumers to seek more sustainable and nature-derived products.

Synthetic dyes like Red dye No. 3 have been linked to cancer and behavioral problems in children.Such moves include the scrutiny and bans of dyes posing health risks, which Jubran says the company’s pigments could be an alternative to.

“Our colors can perfectly match the shades and intensity achieved with Red Dye no.3 and are applicable in most applications where Red Dye no.3 is currently used.”

Cost-wise, Jubran says the colors have an apparent advantage compared to other natural alternatives that attempt to replace Red Dye no.3 and artificial dyes efficiently. 

“Our agriculture-free manufacturing and high fermentation efficiency puts us in a position where we compete with current solutions, cost-wise,” he concludes.

The dance of colors
Increased consumer demand for eco-friendly ingredients has led to a string of R&D initiatives to develop novel technologies to formulate nature-friendly hues. This is in line with Innova Market Insights’ second “Nurturing nature” Top Ten Food & Drink Trends 2024, which says brands that highlight a bond with nature are achieving cut-through with consumers.

For instance, Denmark-based scientists are formulating natural betalain-type food color with a distinctive red hue for use in meat substitutes, candies and ice creams, by fermentation involving Yarrowia lipolytica, an oleaginous yeast commonly found in cheese.

Another natural color innovation is Natu. Red, formulated via precision fermentation, which claims pH and temperature stability and a better sustainability profile than betanin and carmine, along with compliance with vegan diets.

Titanium dioxide, a white food coloring, has been banned in the EU, pushing food innovators to change their formulations.As previously reported by Food Ingredients First, F&B’s innovation efforts regarding natural colors have gathered pace amid greater scrutiny of specific color sources, such as TiO2 and Red No. 40.

Business moves
In recent years, Ginkgo Bioworks and Phytolon have been making business strides with funding, innovation and partnerships.

In 2022, Phytolon snapped up a US$14.5 million investment to progress its technology toward commercialization, followed by additional funding in 2023 to launch its innovative natural food colors.

Meanwhile, Ginkgo Bioworks explored precision fermentation to formulate nutritionally similar alternative dairy proteins and mycoprotein for a natural meaty taste in plant-based foods.

By Insha Naureen