Natural reds: Chr Hansen’s sweet potato-based juice concentrates rise to alternative carmine challenge

21 May 2020 --- As consumers move towards vegetarian and vegan choices, the need for a carmine alternative is more pressing, pushing ingredient suppliers to provide a solution for this problem. Just over a year ago Chr Hansen’s unveiled its commercialized vegetable variety – the Hansen sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) – using traditional breeding methods to create the long-sought-after vibrant, natural red alternative to carmine and also a red 40 replacer. This is the raw material used to create vibrant alternatives to synthetic reds. FoodIngredientsFirst speaks with Tammi Geiger, Chr Hansen, Marketing Manager US, to see how the FruitMax line of red juices are now being used in meat analogs, plant-based alternatives, bakery, beverages and other applications.

“Our FruitMax reds are minimally processed, bright and stable plus 100 percent plant-based with no off-taste, which is often a characteristic of other similar red colors coming from natural sources,” Geiger explains. “They are heat and light stable plus they have oxidation stability. They are less pH-sensitive than other red anthocyanin-based fruit and vegetable concentrates and provide a clean label product for those consumers looking for natural ingredients. And it is vegan, kosher and halal,” she notes. 

“Response has been positive in that it does provide a desired red shade that has good stability particularly after heat treatment and offers a clean label option to either artificial red or carmine. There is lots of interest with regards to plant-based meats, bakery and pet food products because it’s providing a natural vibrant vegan red that manufacturers were searching for.” 

Origin of anthocyanin
Found in the sweet potato, grape, elderberry, red radish, red cabbage, blackcurrant and black carrot, anthocyanin is a natural pigment. The color shade is pH-dependent, orange-red in acid solutions and violet-blue in alkaline. Due to certain technical properties, these sources are very stable to light, pH and heat and this makes them very good replacers of artificial red food colors.

One of the characteristics of anthocyanins is that they are not stable above pH 5 which results in a blue/grey shade, Geiger explains. “Our sweet potato maintains a pink/red shade at pH>5 and, therefore, works well in more neutral applications like meat alternatives and frostings. It is more stable under heat and will not brown like beet. It has little to no off-flavor like other pigments that are used for red shades like radish and beet,” she further notes. 

The consumers’ drive towards plant-based diets includes using ingredients that are clean and relatable, adds Geiger. “Because the Hansen sweet potato is produced through minimal processing and is labeled as “vegetable juice,” it delivers a unique, bright red shade that is stable and more resistant to turning blueish or gray at more neutral pH levels than other anthocyanins.”

“This anthocyanin is beneficial for its pH stability (>pH 5) and lack of off-notes in plant-based meats. The desirable look is to mimic that of actual beef patties with a ‘bloody’ pre-cooked product and a brown post-cook and the sweet potato provides the shade that the customer is looking for. To achieve the desired shade, colors used in combination are needed and these can include Hansen sweet potato with beet, paprika, black carrot or annatto,” she continues. 

Developing the intensity of color 
More than a decade ago, the company discovered a promising pigment in a root vegetable’s tuber, but the plant’s pigment content was on the low side and the intensity of the shade was not high enough, explains Geiger. 

A team of agronomists took this plant and embarked on a process of selective breeding using traditional, non-GMO methods, to achieve the intensity and the right shade.   

“They learned the most effective ways to get the best pigment yield and quality and they fed data back to the breeding team,” Geiger states. “We partnered with growers to learn the best ways to plant, nurture and harvest the Hansen sweet potato. We also have a year-round harvest which means we can continuously increase supply.”

Unlike some crops with one or two annual harvests, Chr Hansen can adjust how much is planted monthly to scale up production according to market demand. Sweet potatoes are an adaptable, renewable source that takes seven to eight months to grow.

“We can produce the final color in only 10 months from planning to have the color in hand,” Geiger continues. “Methods were perfected for handling, transportation and extraction. Plus we have a custom-built factory for processing sweet potato tubers.” These potatoes are unique in the market and this variant is owned by Chr. Hansen. The new sweet potatoes provide high yield and high color strength resulting in a more cost-efficient product.

The sweet potato also scooped the Clean Label and Natural Innovation Award at last December’s Fi Innovation Awards as part of Fi Europe in Paris. 

By Gaynor Selby