Betalaines as Colorants in Dairy Products

Color in foods is one of the most important attributes and is subject to great changes that are not easily controlled. Therefore, to control appearance of food, artificial dyes often need to be added. In recent years the safety of artificial dyes has been questioned and, as a result, their use in the future will be limited if not eliminated. It is for this reason that interest has developed in obtaining pigments from natural sources. The red beet is a rich source of pigments, which warrant investigation in dairy products. In addition, beet powder is permitted as a colorant under the 1960 Color Additive Amendment. The term betalaine refers to the class of pigments found in the beet which contains both betacyanines (red) and betaxanthines (yellow). The betanine content (major red pigment) in beets is in excess of 100 mg/100 g fresh weight and juice concentrates and powders available range in dye content between 0.2 and 1%. Use of betalaines as colorant and color stability of betalaines in yogurt, ice cream, and sherbet has been evaluated. Subjective and objective color values were measured and, as an example, yogurt colored with 45 ppm pigment, calculated as betanine, was judged to compare favorably with a black cherry shade.