Resources

Insights& analysis.

Research, regulatory updates, and reformulation intelligence for food and beverage teams navigating the transition from artificial to natural color.

Field guide

The Red Dye Field Guide

Confused about the dye deadlines? A field guide to Red 3, Red 40, and the dates that matter. Ten pages.

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Use cases

Real problems. Worked through.

Anonymized DyeConverter work. Client, brand and supplier names withheld.

Beverage · Hot fill · pH 2.9

A Natural Green for a pH 2.9 Hot-Fill Cocktail Mixer

ProblemA light lime-green mixer turned amber on the line and on the shelf, and nothing in the formula could hold a green.

FindingFix the browning first, then add an acid-tolerant natural blue and let the pineapple yellow build the green.

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Confectionery · Sour candy

Turning Natural Blue's Color Change Into a Sour Candy Feature

ProblemNatural blue changes color in sour candy. Could the change become a feature instead of a defect?

FindingYes, but not with spirulina alone. Butterfly pea shifts on cue with the acid sanding and walks back in the mouth.

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Extruded protein · TiO2 replacement

Replacing Titanium Dioxide in a Hot-Extruded Soy Protein Piece

ProblemEvery food-grade mineral white gave too little lift in a hot-extruded soy protein piece.

FindingIt is optics, not the powder. Shrink the browning first, so less white is needed, then test what is left.

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Articles

April 16, 20268 min read

Why the FDA Stalled Approval of "Beetroot Red"

The FDA paused approval of beetroot red — not for safety, but over labeling gaps between plant-extracted and fermentation-derived colorants. What R&D and regulatory teams need to know.

FDAbeetroot rednatural food dyesfermentation

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May 16, 20267 min read

Why Does Spirulina Blue Turn Green in Frozen Products?

Spirulina blue is a protein carrying a pigment, not a dye. Why phycocyanin shifts toward green in frozen treats -- ranked by what the science actually shows -- and the verified ways to keep it blue.

spirulinaphycocyaninnatural bluefrozen desserts

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May 16, 20266 min read

Why Am I Getting Different Shades From the Same E-Value?

The E-value on a natural color spec measures color strength at one wavelength, not hue. Why two batches at the same E-value land different shades, and how to write a spec that controls color.

E-valuecolor valuenatural colorantsspecification

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May 25, 20268 min read

Why Does Butterfly Pea Flower Turn Purple When I Add Citric Acid?

Butterfly pea blue does not survive citric acid. The pigment is a polyacylated delphinidin glucoside called ternatin, and it shifts hue reversibly with pH. The real blue band is pH 5-7, not 3.8-7. Here is what the literature actually says, how late addition protects the color, and where butterfly pea is now FDA-approved as of June 2025.

butterfly peaternatinanthocyaninnatural blue

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July 21, 20269 min read

Big Food's Reckoning: Clean Labels, Regulation and the Generational Shift

Ultra-processed foods supply 55% of US calories, private label holds 24% of grocery units, and six synthetic dyes are targeted for removal by the end of 2027. A sourced research summary of the regulatory, consumer and generational pressure reshaping Big Food.

ultra-processed foodclean labelFDAfood dye phase-out

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May 16, 20267 min read

How Do I Know My Natural Color Will Last 12 Months Without Waiting a Year?

Accelerated shelf-life testing predicts natural color fade in weeks instead of a year, using Arrhenius or Q10 kinetics. The method, the worked example, and the Arrhenius-breakdown caveat that matters most for natural pigments.

stability testingshelf lifeASLTArrhenius

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