The United States’ Food and Drug Administration has approved spirulina extract to be used as a natural blue colouring ingredient in a wide range of foods after approving it to be used in candy and gum last fall. Spirulina is a blue-green algae that occurs in freshwater and marine habitats.
The extended approval occurred after a petition from natural colours expert GNT USA allows companies to use spirulina to be used as an approved colour additive (under 21 CFR part 73) in food products such as frostings, ice cream and frozen desserts, dessert coatings and toppings, beverage mixes and powders, yogurts, custards, puddings, cottage cheese, gelatin, breadcrumbs and ready-to-eat cereals says Stefan Hake, chief executive officer of GNT USA.
“Many perceive spirulina as a new colouring product. However, because GNT was early to develop this product over 20 years ago, we not only have the required processing technology and production capacity to deliver our high-quality products across the globe, we also have vast technical expertise to make spirulina work in a great number of applications,” he says.
The approval of spirulina as a natural colouring agent now completes the entire rainbow of natural colours available for use in food products.
