Define term Food Colours
The color of a food product plays a very important part in its acceptance by the consumer. Many of the food processing operations like drying, canning, roasting, frying etc. lead to loss of the attractive natural color of foods. This makes the addition of synthetic color to the processed food essential. You would, for example, surely reject a can of cherries which were brown in colour instead of a bright red or a can of peas which are a dirty greenish-yellow instead of bright green. Color additives are also used in foods to correct natural variations in food colour. A manufacturer would want, for instance, that every batch of his orange marmalade is the same shade of orange. A few other reasons of adding colors to foods include:
- to enhance colors that occur naturally but at levels weaker than those usually associated with a given food.
- to provide a colorful identity to foods that would otherwise be visually colorless.
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to protect nutrients such as vitamins and flavors that may be affected by sunlight.
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to provide an appealing variety of foods to consumers.
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to compensate for natural or seasonal variations in food, raw material or the effects of processing and storage to meet consumer expectations.
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The addition of coloring matter is, however, restricted to only specified items of food. Any extraneous addition of coloring matter has to be written on the label attached to any ~package of food. So next time you purchase a packet of cream biscuits, candy or a tetra pack of fruit juice, check the label for any of the following declarations in capital letters: