05-09-2016, 09:41 AM
Abstract
Production of biocolours. N. Sutthiwong, Y. Caro, P. Laurent, M. Fouillaud, A. Valla, Dufossé L.. (Chapter 12) In : “Biotechnology in Agriculture and Food Processing: Opportunites and Challenges”, 1st edition, Panesar P.S. and Marwaha S.S. (Eds.), Francis & Taylor, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, ISBN 978-1-439888360, 419-437, 2013. NATURE IS RICH IN COLORS (minerals, plants, microalgae, etc) and pigment-producing microorganisms (fungi, yeasts, bacteria) are quite common. Currently, the vast majority of the natural food colorants permitted in the European Union and the United States are derived by extraction of the pigments from raw materials obtained from the flowering-plants of the kingdom Plantae. The production of many existing natural colorants of plant origin has a disadvantage of dependence on the supply of raw materials, which are influenced by agro-climatic conditions – in addition, their chemical profile may vary from batch-to-batch. Moreover, many of the pigments derived from the contemporary sources are sensitive to heat, light, and oxygen, and some may even change their colour in response to pH changes as in case of anthocyanins. Until recently problem of color loss and stability in products could be easily tackled by using synthetic pigments, such as azo dyes, originally derived from coal tar. This view has changed over the last five years as concerns about possible adverse health effects of synthetic colors have grown (Southampton study, McCann et al., 2007). Among the molecules produced by microorganisms are carotenoids, melanins, flavins, phenazines, quinones, bacteriochlorophylls and more specifically monascins, violacein or indigo (Dufossé, 2004 ; Kerr, 2000 ; Plonka and Grabacka, 2006). The success of any pigment produced by fermentation depends upon its acceptability in the market, regulatory approval, and the size of the capital investment required to bring the product to market. A few years ago, some expressed doubts about the successful commercialization of fermentation-derived food grade or cosmetic grade pigments because of the high capital investment requirements for fermentation facilities and the extensive and lengthy toxicity studies required by regulatory agencies. Public perception of biotechnology-derived products also had to be taken into account. Nowadays some fermentative food grade pigments are on the market: Monascus pigments, astaxanthin from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, arpink red from Penicillium oxalicum, riboflavin from Ashbya gossypii, -carotene from Blakeslea trispora. The successful marketing of pigments derived from algae or extracted from plants, both as a food color and a nutritional supplement, reflects the presence and importance of niche markets in which consumers are willing to pay a premium for ‘all natural ingredients’. Colors can serve as the primary identification of food and are also a protective measure against the consumption of spoiled food. Colors of foods create physiological and psychological expectations and attitudes that are developed by experience, tradition, education and environment: ‘We inevitably eat with our eyes’. The controversial topic of ‘synthetic dyes in food’ has been discussed for many years and was amplified in 2007 with the Southampton study (Schab and Trinh, 2004; Mc Cann et al., 2007) and its transcription in a legal frame (i.e. the use of warning labels in Europe about a hyperactivity link for products containing any of the Southampton colours is mandatory since July 2010). The scrutiny and negative assessment of synthetic food dyes by the modern consumer have given rise to a strong interest in natural colouring alternatives. Some companies decided to ‘color food with food’, using mainly plant extracts or pigments from plants, e.g. red from paprika, beetroots, berries or tomato; yellow from saffron or marigold; orange from annatto; green from leafy vegetables, etc. Penetration of the fermentation-derived ingredients into the food and cosmetic industries is increasing year after year. Examples could be taken from the following fields: thickening or gelling agents (xanthan, curdlan, gellan), flavour enhancers (yeast hydrolysate, monosodium glutamate), flavour compounds (gamma-decalactone, diacetyl, methyl-ketones), acidulants (lactic acid, citric acid), etc. Efforts have been made in order to reduce the production costs of fermentation pigments compared to those of synthetic pigments or pigments extracted from natural sources (Dufossé, 2006). Innovations will improve the economy of pigment production by isolating new or creating better microorganisms, by improving the processes. This chapter focuses on research works related to this field published over the past ten years by private companies or academic laboratories, with an emphasis on pigments for food use. As recently described by our group, there is ‘a long way from the Petri dish to the market place’, and thus to the product on store shelves.
Production of biocolours. N. Sutthiwong, Y. Caro, P. Laurent, M. Fouillaud, A. Valla, Dufossé L.. (Chapter 12) In : “Biotechnology in Agriculture and Food Processing: Opportunites and Challenges”, 1st edition, Panesar P.S. and Marwaha S.S. (Eds.), Francis & Taylor, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, ISBN 978-1-439888360, 419-437, 2013. NATURE IS RICH IN COLORS (minerals, plants, microalgae, etc) and pigment-producing microorganisms (fungi, yeasts, bacteria) are quite common. Currently, the vast majority of the natural food colorants permitted in the European Union and the United States are derived by extraction of the pigments from raw materials obtained from the flowering-plants of the kingdom Plantae. The production of many existing natural colorants of plant origin has a disadvantage of dependence on the supply of raw materials, which are influenced by agro-climatic conditions – in addition, their chemical profile may vary from batch-to-batch. Moreover, many of the pigments derived from the contemporary sources are sensitive to heat, light, and oxygen, and some may even change their colour in response to pH changes as in case of anthocyanins. Until recently problem of color loss and stability in products could be easily tackled by using synthetic pigments, such as azo dyes, originally derived from coal tar. This view has changed over the last five years as concerns about possible adverse health effects of synthetic colors have grown (Southampton study, McCann et al., 2007). Among the molecules produced by microorganisms are carotenoids, melanins, flavins, phenazines, quinones, bacteriochlorophylls and more specifically monascins, violacein or indigo (Dufossé, 2004 ; Kerr, 2000 ; Plonka and Grabacka, 2006). The success of any pigment produced by fermentation depends upon its acceptability in the market, regulatory approval, and the size of the capital investment required to bring the product to market. A few years ago, some expressed doubts about the successful commercialization of fermentation-derived food grade or cosmetic grade pigments because of the high capital investment requirements for fermentation facilities and the extensive and lengthy toxicity studies required by regulatory agencies. Public perception of biotechnology-derived products also had to be taken into account. Nowadays some fermentative food grade pigments are on the market: Monascus pigments, astaxanthin from Xanthophyllomyces dendrorhous, arpink red from Penicillium oxalicum, riboflavin from Ashbya gossypii, -carotene from Blakeslea trispora. The successful marketing of pigments derived from algae or extracted from plants, both as a food color and a nutritional supplement, reflects the presence and importance of niche markets in which consumers are willing to pay a premium for ‘all natural ingredients’. Colors can serve as the primary identification of food and are also a protective measure against the consumption of spoiled food. Colors of foods create physiological and psychological expectations and attitudes that are developed by experience, tradition, education and environment: ‘We inevitably eat with our eyes’. The controversial topic of ‘synthetic dyes in food’ has been discussed for many years and was amplified in 2007 with the Southampton study (Schab and Trinh, 2004; Mc Cann et al., 2007) and its transcription in a legal frame (i.e. the use of warning labels in Europe about a hyperactivity link for products containing any of the Southampton colours is mandatory since July 2010). The scrutiny and negative assessment of synthetic food dyes by the modern consumer have given rise to a strong interest in natural colouring alternatives. Some companies decided to ‘color food with food’, using mainly plant extracts or pigments from plants, e.g. red from paprika, beetroots, berries or tomato; yellow from saffron or marigold; orange from annatto; green from leafy vegetables, etc. Penetration of the fermentation-derived ingredients into the food and cosmetic industries is increasing year after year. Examples could be taken from the following fields: thickening or gelling agents (xanthan, curdlan, gellan), flavour enhancers (yeast hydrolysate, monosodium glutamate), flavour compounds (gamma-decalactone, diacetyl, methyl-ketones), acidulants (lactic acid, citric acid), etc. Efforts have been made in order to reduce the production costs of fermentation pigments compared to those of synthetic pigments or pigments extracted from natural sources (Dufossé, 2006). Innovations will improve the economy of pigment production by isolating new or creating better microorganisms, by improving the processes. This chapter focuses on research works related to this field published over the past ten years by private companies or academic laboratories, with an emphasis on pigments for food use. As recently described by our group, there is ‘a long way from the Petri dish to the market place’, and thus to the product on store shelves.