Switching to natural colours in Canada: stability, shade and label wording

Anthocyanins from purple carrot, black carrot or sweet potato shift from red at low pH toward blue-grey as pH climbs, so they suit acidified beverages and confectionery far better than neutral dairy. Carmine and beet hold red at moderate pH, but beet degrades quickly under heat. Carotenoids, paprika and annatto cover yellow through orange with good thermal tolerance, yet need emulsion or dispersion systems in clear liquids.

Spirulina extract is the workhorse blue and also the most fragile: it loses tone under prolonged heat and low pH. If a blue or green shade has to survive pasteurisation in a clear bottle on a lit shelf, plan light-box ageing into the trial from day one rather than discovering the fade at week six.

Concentrates made by physically processing fruit, vegetable or plant material with the colour left intact are commonly handled as ingredients and declared by their food name, for example concentrated purple carrot juice. Extracted and purified pigments are treated as colour additives and declared as such, subject to Canada's permitted-colour provisions and any specific limits.

That distinction drives both the ingredient list and any clean-label claim you intend to make, so settle it against the supplier's composition statement before artwork. Sensitivities matter too: carmine is insect-derived and disqualifies vegan and many vegetarian claims, and several natural systems carry sulphite or dairy-derived carriers that must be declared.

Natural systems are typically dosed far higher than the synthetic dye they replace, and higher inclusion can bring vegetable notes, turbidity or sediment with it. Cost per finished tonne, not cost per kilo of colour, is the number to compare — and a light masking flavour is often cheaper than pushing colour dosage further.

Run the shade match under the packaging and lighting the product will actually sit in, hold retains across full shelf life, and record the target as instrumental colour values rather than a verbal description. That record is what makes a second supplier or a second plant reproducible.