Topic : Show your understanding and giving as many

as possible thae all related issues of food colors and

food flavors

Submitted to Dr. Nguyen Van Toan (PhD)

Trịnh Quốc Khánh – BTFTIU18188
 Outline

Food Color Food Flavor

Definition of food color Definition of food flavor

Advantages of food color Advantages of food color
Disadvantages of food color Disadvantages of food color
Food Color
Definition of food color
• Food color or color additive is any dye, pigment or substance when
added or applied to a food, drug or cosmetic, or to the human body, is
capable (alone or through reactions with other substances) of
imparting color

• There are 2 main types

Artificial color (or human made color)
Natural color (found in nature)
Advantages of food color
• Enhance sensory properties (both natural and synthetic
one)
Food can be lost during processing and storing
Colorful appearance of food attract eye attention
Ex: Orange fortified with beta carotene
Candy, ice cream with color added
Rice added with saffron and tumeric
• Stable and easy to use, synthetic color are applicable in
industry that demand for the consistency of product
Ex: high intensity color additives suits large scale productions
 Advantages of food color
• Color trigger taste expectation used as indication of food condition
Pink, Orange, Red  remind of ripe food : tomato, rasberries, straw berries
utmost excitation and sweet taste
Ex: Candy, ice cream that demands lower amount of sugar  benefits health

Green, yellow  sour taste  trigger appetizing

White, ray blue  salty taste
Violet, black and brown  bitter –coffee

Ex: Create new eating experience: food made from bamboo charcoal powder
Advantages of food color
• Color food compounds posses several beneficial health
effect
Example
Chlorophyll, green pigments lutein and zeaxanthin in green
leafy vegetables  chemical formula is similar to that of
hemoglobin
treat anemia, it regulates cholesterol levels, it neutralizes the
toxins and reduce risk of AMD (age related macular
degeneration)
Beta carotene: precursor of Vitamin A
 Good for hair, skin, eye
Advantages of food color
• Example
Anthocyanin:  pigments that give red, purple, and blue
Exist in dark color fruit and vegetables
May offers antioxidants against free radicals, anti-
inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-cancer benefits.
Polyphenol and flavonoid
• Combination of colors in food can be appetizing
different colors, different nutrients positive effect of colorful
diversity tastier, more interesting and fresher
Example: pizza
Disadvantages of food color
• Natural food color fade rapidly over times and difficult to
incorporate into food
• Natural ingredient often vary appreciably in their composition
and properties depending on their origin, the time of year
harvested, the climate and the soil quality
• Original of natural food colorings can alter the taste of final
product
• May cause allergy

Example: Tumeric
certain compounds can cause rashes, outbreaks and even shortness
of breath. occur from both ingestion and skin contact during
manufacturing
Disadvantages of food color
• Natural food color sensitive to environmental condition,
especially pH and temperature
 Limit the use in food processing

• Some producer introduce mineral pigments as food color

enhancement
Example: Red Lead, vermilion (HgS), green (copper arsenate),
yellow (Lead chromate), blue (copper sulfate)
Food poisoning  may cause death
Disadvantages of food color
• Synthetic color most artificial food color possess no nutritional value
• May cause harmful effect to health
Food dyes may cause hyperactivity in sensitive children

• Some dyes may contain cancer-causing contaminants

Several artificial color consists of chemicals derived from petroleum
Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 may contain contaminants known
cancer-causing substances.
Benzidine, 4-aminobiphenyl and 4-aminoazobenzene are potential
carcinogens that have been found in food dyes
Disadvantages of food color
• Red 40 may accelerate the appearance of
immune system tumors in mice, while also
triggering hyperactivity in children.
• Blue 2, used in candies, beverages, pet foods
and more, was linked to brain tumors.
• Yellow 5, used in baked goods, candies, cereal
and more, may contaminated with cancer-
causing chemicals, linked to hyperactivity,
hypersensitivity in children.
 Why people like food color ?
• Food added with coloring agent are attractive and alluring to
consumer as they perceived colorful food with higher taste and
nutritional value
• Correct natural variations in color and enhance colors that occur
naturally; and to provide color to colorless and "fun" foods
• Artificial coloring agent are stable, cheap and suitable for large scale
production
• Support for the development of new colorful, fun and fresh product
Recommendation of using food colorant
1. Prefer unprocessed naturally colored foods for consumption
2. Gradually remove harmful food dyes and replace them with natural alternatives
if possible
3. Foods that contain artificial food dyes should be labeled with warning labels
4. Issue an immediate advisory to children, warning them to limit/avoid their
intake of additives through education
5. Strictly regulate the usage and dose of artificial food colorant
6. Use natural color source as alternative to artificial ones
Summary food color
• Food color or color additive is any dye, pigment or substance which is used to
impart color.
• There are 2 main types:
 Artificial color (produced by chemical methods)
 Natural color (extracted and refined from nature)
• Food colors have many advantages such as make food more attractive and
informative, trigger expectation, possess beneficial health effect
• Food colors still have some disadvantages: they may mask the decline of food
quality, some artificial food colors have no nutritional value and can cause bad
health effects like allergy, hyperactivity,…
Food Flavor
Definition of food flavor
• Flavor is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and
is determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell.
• Taste: There are five tastes:
✓ Pungent
✓ Sour
✓ Bitter
✓ Salty
✓ Sweet
• Food flavors are used to alter or enhance the flavors of
natural food products or creating flavor for food products that do
not have the desired flavor
Classification of food flavor
• Flavor can be broadly classified into natural, nature-identical, and artificial
flavoring substances.

• Natural flavoring substances: Flavoring substances obtained from plant or animal

raw materials, by physical, microbiological or enzymatic processes are classified
as natural flavoring substances

• Nature-identical flavoring substances: Flavoring substances obtained by

synthesis or are isolated through chemical processes. Identical to flavoring
substances present in nature

• Artificial flavoring substances: These food flavorings are typically produced by

fractional distillation and additional chemical manipulation naturally sourced
chemicals or from crude oil or coal tar.
 Herbs                                    Basil, mint
 Spices Aromatic Seeds Cardamon, clove, turmeric
 Aromatic seeds Anissed, Cumin  
 Fruits    Orange, Lemon
 Vegetables    Pees, Onions, Garlic         

 Natural Extracted Flavour:

Essential Oil, Essence, Extracts Vanillin, the main component of vanilla
 Synthetic Flavour: beans
Fruit Flavour, Savoury Flavour

 Caramelized
 Roasted Ethyl vanillin, which is artificial and smells and
 Fermented tastes like vanillin yet is roughly three times
 Toasted more taste-intensive when added to ice
 Baked cream, confectionery and baked goods.
Advantages of food flavor
• Food fortified with flavoring agents taste better
Artificial flavor enhance the flavor profile of food
Ex: n-Butyl acetate is a flavouring ingredient used in
apple flavours.
Isoamyl acetate is used to confer banana flavor in
foods.
Furfuryl mercaptan has a coffee type flavor.
• Generally recognized as safe, lower risk of allergy
Advantages of food flavor
• Food flavoring agent possesses beneficial health effect
Example: Vanillin, a widely used flavoring agent, has
antimutagenic and antioxidant properties
vanillin might be beneficial against maneb-induced
hepatic damage in mice
• Food flavor triggers emotion
Sweet, savoury and salty foods set off a rush of brain
activity that deeply influences moods, emotions and
memories
Example: Ice cream
Advantages of food flavor
• Food flavoring may also aid in preservation of the products
Phenolic compound present in essential oil of thyme, rose marry,
cinnamon, lemongrass such as Timol, Carvacol, acid 1, 8 Cafeic and
Transcinnamaldehyde act as antimicrobial agent

Enhance flavor profile and help keep food longer

Can be introduce as coating layer or ingredients apply in
confectionary
Ex: orange flavour candy
Advantages of food flavor
• Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are antioxidant polyphenols in green coffee
and fruit  contribute to the sweet and oily odor of green coffee beans
odor
generate volatile compounds such as phenol, γ-Butyrolactone and 2-
methoxyphenol  antimicrobial and antioxidant properties to roasted
coffee  antidiabetics, antiobesity and anti-inflammatory effects
• Non volatile taste compound in cocoa and green tea
Catechins responsible for the bitterness and astringency in cocoa and tea
Flavan-3-ols  responsible for the key sensory characteristics of cocoa
such as bitterness, astringency, flavor intensity, acidity, fruity, floral notes
 cocoa has beneficial effects on lipoprotein oxidation, platelet
activation, Alzheimer’s disease, type 2 diabetes
Disadvantages of food flavor
• Synthesized food flavoring agents are considered
detrimental for health
• Can cause harmful symptoms: brain tumors, cancer,
nausea, mental confusion, allergies, kidney
problems,...
Example: smoking food and cured meat shows potential
health risk
Nitride responsible for beautiful pink color and flavor
of food  expose to eat  formation of carcinogenic
substances
Disadvantages of food flavor
• Seller raise a belief of unnecessary addition of flavor enhancer
Example: MSG Mono sodium glutamate trigger umami taste of food
product such as soup, broth,…
 Not necessary to consumes
Why people like food flavor ?
• Food flavor are used to impart and enhance the flavor profile
• Flavor enhancers enhance a food's existing flavors by adding taste,
aroma to food as tasting and smelling food trigger our salivary glands
and digestive "juices“
• Food flavoring agents improve product color, appealing aroma, storing
duration of food without quality degradation
Summary for food flavor
• Food flavor is the sensory impression of a food or other substance, and is
determined mainly by the chemical senses of taste and smell.

• Flavor can be broadly classified into natural (herbs, fruits, vegetables,...), nature-
identical (essential oil,...), and artificial flavoring substances (fermented foods,
baked goods,...)
• Food flavors have many advantages such as rare allergic side effects, additional
medical properties, and food flavorings may also aid in preservation of the
products.
• Food flavors still have some disadvantages: evidence for potential heath impacts ,
can cause harmful symptoms: cancer, nausea, mental confusion, allergies, kidney
problems,...
Summary
• Food color and food flavor together enhance the sensory profile of
food
• Both food color and food flavor have advantages and disadvantages in
food industry
• The usage of food coloring and flavoring agent need to be strictly
regulated
References
• Dr Nguyen Van Toan, Food color and flavor Slides, 2020
• Okafor, Sunday & Obonga, Wilfred & Ezeokonkwo, Mercy. (2016). Assessment of the
Health implications of Synthetic and Natural Food Colourants – A Critical Review. UK
Journal of Pharmaceutical Biosciences. 4. 1. 10.20510/ukjpb/4/i4/110639.
• Sefi M, Elwej A, Chaâbane M, et al. Beneficial role of vanillin, a polyphenolic flavoring
agent, on maneb-induced oxidative stress, DNA damage, and liver histological changes in
Swiss albino mice. Hum Exp Toxicol. 2019;38(6):619‐631. doi:10.1177/0960327119831067
• Deshpande, S. (2002). Handbook of Food Toxicology. Boca Raton: CRC Press, https://
doi.org/10.1201/9780203908969
• Ayseli, Mehmet & Ayseli, Yasemin. (2015). Flavors of the Future: Health Benefits of Flavor
Precursors and Volatile Compounds in Plant Foods. Trends in Food Science & Technology.
48. 10.1016/j.tifs.2015.11.005.