Blueberry anthocyanins: A possible solution against Red 40
The healthy demand in the world of food is increasingly more informed and powerful, demanding the removal of harmful products or products of doubtful contribution to human health, such as dyes and synthetic additives.
In the cranberry industry of different countries, research is constantly being carried out on the genetics of plants, their productivity and the integral development of the crop, but one of the areas that have made the most efforts in recent times is innovation and technology to develop bilberry products that have added value.
In this line studies have been made to take advantage of the discarding, or surplus of the harvest, because they represent approximately 5% of the production that does not have the same demand or commercial value, and that is usually lost.
The healthy demand in the world of food is increasingly more informed and powerful, demanding the removal of harmful products or products of doubtful contribution to human health, such as dyes and synthetic additives.
There is a significant demand for natural dyes that can replace synthetic dyes, due to its proven toxicity in food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. One of the most combative dyes is Red allura AC, also called Red food 7, or Red 40.
It is an azoderivated compound and is used as a colorant and additive in the food industry. It can be found in sweets or confectionery, in soft drinks and juices, in confectionery products and cookies, in dairy products, condiments, desserts and gelatins, in flavoring fillings and also in the pharmaceutical and cosmetology industry, among other products for human consumption.
It was introduced in the US in the mid-eighties as a substitute for amaranth, another colorant with carcinogenic characteristics.
The Red 40, being an azo dye, has been subjected to minimal dose reviews from 2009 and has been withdrawn as a food coloring for children in several European countries. The application of this synthetic dye can cause allergic reactions in consumers and toxicological experiments have been performed on animals, proving that when used in large doses can cause cancer.
In countries that have been banned for use in infant foods, it is because one of the side effects of 40 Red are the symptoms of hyperactivity in children.
Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are flavonoids, or plant pigments, with great potential to replace synthetic dyes in a competitive way, since they are responsible for the range of colors that range from red to blue in many fruits, vegetables and cereals. These are responsible for the color of the cranberry fruit.
The development of technology to extract anthocyanins from blueberries has intensified, not only due to their pictorial qualities or natural coloring, but also to their possible therapeutic and beneficial effects for human health, among which are the reduction of coronary diseases, anticancer, antitumor, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects.
These bioactive properties of anthocyanins open up a new perspective for obtaining various colored products with added value for human consumption, because it could be viable the development of fresh foods enriched by the incorporation of anthocyanin extract from blueberries, developing technology to impregnate These vacuum foods, as investigated by Luz Marina Zapata, in Argentina (doctoral thesis of the Polytechnic University of Valencia: Obtaining anthocyanin extract from blueberries to be used as an antioxidant and dye in the food industry), in this way to achieve the profitable use of surplus fresh cranberry and innovate in the development of new products with functional and healthy characteristics.
Source: Blueberrieschile.cl - Blueberriesconsulting.com
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