Spirulina. Yes, the blue-green algae from the smoothie aisle.

Spirulina.

Yes, the blue-green algae from the smoothie aisle. It is also one of the only natural blues the food industry has.

The color is phycocyanin, a brilliant blue pigment bound up in protein. That protein is the whole story: the reason spirulina can do something almost no plant can, and the reason it is so hard to work with.

The pros: a true, vivid blue from a renewable source, clean label, and paired with a yellow like turmeric it swings straight into green.

The cons all trace back to that protein. Heat denatures it, so it struggles anywhere near an oven or a hot fill. Light fades it over time on the shelf. And push the dose high enough for a deep blue, and a faint earthy, almost marine note can ride along with the color.

So spirulina is a gift and a diva. The right blue for a cold, dark, gently handled product. The wrong one for heat, for light, or for a clean flavor at high load.

A natural blue this rare is worth the trouble. You just have to know exactly where it works, and where it quietly falls apart.

That is the kind of call DyeConverter is built to make.

#FoodScience #CleanLabel #FoodColor #Spirulina #DyeConverter