LycoRed Receives FDA Approval for Food Coloring

Tomat-O-Red can be used to color a variety of food and beverage products, including beverages, dairy products, confectionary products and baked goods.

LycoRed Ltd. has announced the receipt of FDA approval for the use of Tomat-O-Red, natural tomato lycopene, as a food coloring. The approval allows LycoRed to market natural lycopene as a colorant for foods and beverages.

This advanced natural colorant provides various shades of red. In contrast to other natural colorants available on the market, Tomat-O-Red is ready-to use, and highly stable under a wide range of temperatures and the color does not shift with changes in pH. Tomat-O-Red is available as a liquid dispersion or a cold-water dispersible powder. Tomat-O-Red can be used to color a variety of food and beverage products, including beverages, dairy products, confectionary products and baked goods.

“This FDA approval is important for us since it opens an additional marketing channel in the US, and creates new business opportunities,” comments Morris Zelkha, CEO of LycoRed. “Thanks to its beneficial attributes, Tomat-O-Red has great potential and we anticipate significant share in the red food colorant market. We are beginning an aggressive marketing campaign to promote Tomat-O-Red.”

The market for natural and synthetic food colorings together is estimated at $1 billion. Recently, the usage of synthetic colorants appears to be declining in favor of natural colorants. The natural food colorant market is estimated at $250 million, with red accounting for $30–$40 million. LycoRed’s sales have shown strong growth in Japan, which approved lycopene formulations as food colorants several years ago.

Tomat-O-Red is produced with lycopene extracted from a proprietary variety of non-GMO, lycopene-rich tomatoes. LycoRed’s unique, patent-protected production process provides a significant advantage over competitors. Tomat-O-Red, derived from tomato lycopene, provides health advantages along with its function as a colorant. It is a powerful antioxidant with well-known benefits to prostate and cardiovascular health. Clinical studies show that tomato lycopene helps prevent DNA and cellular damage, which are factors in many degenerative diseases.

The LycoRed Group recently acquired Buckton Scott Nutrition and reorganized to incorporate within it the established skills, innovative technologies and extensive experience of former LycoRed subsidiaries, Biodar (Israel) and Nutriblend (UK). LycoRed’s strategy calls for building a portfolio of high quality carotenoid brands, natural food colorants and effective fortification technologies via strong internal growth and acquisitions.