What’s New in Flavors and Colors
for Organic Processed Foods

By Karen Manheimer


Walk into your local Whole Foods or Wild Oats Supermarket. Stroll through the frozen foods aisle. Peruse the ready-to-eat cereals. The growing number of organic processed foods and beverages is astounding. As consumers demand organic versions of their favorite convenience foods, organic processors are challenged to make them taste and look as good, if not better, than their conventional counterparts.

Organic product developers may be working with higher-quality raw materials but they are faced with a severely limited palette of materials to add color and flavor to their offerings. The good news is that certified organic essential oil distillers, extractors and flavor houses are offering an ever-expanding portfolio, allowing formulators to create products with wide market appeal that meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP) requirements. As a result, organic farmers around the world are realizing the great market potential for NOP-certified herbs, spices, fruits, vegetables, meats and nuts that are needed for flavor and color development.

Under the NOP Organic 95%+ designation, if a flavor or color is commercially available as certified organic, it must be used. If an organic flavor or color is not commercially available, organic foods can contain natural ingredients as long as they conform to guidelines—specifically that they are non-genetically modified organism-containing products produced without the use of prohibited methods or materials. While these guidelines allow for a much wider portfolio of flavor materials, they eliminate the use of solvent-extracted oleoresins traditionally used for color and flavor, as well as many commonly used aroma chemicals, emulsifiers, and other flavor ingredients. These restrictions have led to the birth of a new flavor category called “organic compatible,” which means flavors and extracts that are not certified organic but are permitted as ingredients in an organic product.

Flavors and colors that are categorized as “made with organic ingredients” (between 70% and 95% organic) can be used with products bearing the organic label even when organic equivalents are available. These substances are specified on the National List (section 205.6 of the NOP Final Rule, which is the approved list of additives in organic foods) and are allowed in products made with organic ingredients, but prohibited in certified organic finished products. It should be incumbent upon the flavorist or formulator to ask the end user if the “made with organic” ingredient being developed will, or even might, be used in an organic finished product.

The good news is that there is a variety of organic flavorings and colors available to today’s organic processors, including essential oils, extracts, fruit and vegetable concentrates, caramel colors and compounded flavors. Working closely with knowledgeable ingredient suppliers and brokers in the organic industry will ensure not only that the flavors and colors you use are certified but that you are up to date on the latest options available to your formulators to enhance the appeal of your products.

Essential Oils
Essential oils are a growing category of certified organic flavor ingredients. Essential oils, which are the odoriferous components of the plant, are made by either expression (citrus oils) or steam distillation (herb and spice oils). Virtually all pure and natural essential oils are at least organic compatible. In recent years, more and more essential oils have become available as organic certified. Herb and spice essential oils, such as black pepper, oregano and basil, can be used to punch up the flavors in sauces and dressings. Organic citrus oils and sweet spice oils, such as orange, clove and nutmeg, provide an excellent way to enhance the flavors in dry and ready-to-drink teas such as chai. Organic mint oils are widely used to flavor candy and oral hygiene products, and organic cinnamon oil can flavor ready-to-eat cereals and applesauce.


Extracts
Extracts are made by a process of treating a natural raw material with a solvent. The extract will contain nonvolatile as well as volatile components. In many cases, the solvent is removed, leaving only the volatile and nonvolatile taste components of the original material. One of the challenges to making both certified organic and organic compatible extracts is the solvent system. In the conventional world, spice oleoresins are used to impart both flavor and color to processed food. Unfortunately, these oleoresins are usually made with petroleum-derived solvents and are strictly forbidden in organic food production.

Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) is a technique that uses highly pressurized supercritical carbon dioxide as the solvent. The CO2 will pull out components in the raw material that are soluble in that medium. The pressure of the gas can even be adjusted to extract varied flavor and color components. There are many interesting organic and organic-compatible products derived from this method, including butter extract, herb and spice extracts, and paprika extract for hot dog color. There are several SFE facilities around the world that are organic certified.

Other organic extracts are made with alcohol and/or water, as well as proprietary processes such as sonar, a process that ruptures cell walls during the extraction process. Organic onion and garlic extracts are made using this technique. Organic annatto extracts used in products such as cheddar cheese and granola bars also are available. Organic Turmeric extract is used to color mustards, as well as a wide variety of products ranging from chicken soup to egg nog.

Traditional alcoholic extracts of vanilla, cocoa and almond are available in organic versions. These are used in ice creams, cereals, cookies, and soy beverages. In order to be considered organic, these extracts must be produced using organic alcohol which, although considerably more expensive than its non-organic counterpart, is widely available.

Organic meat and vegetable extracts form the basis of savory flavors. Traditionally, savory flavors have been produced through the Maillard reaction. Creating flavors from the “real” source material has long been a challenge for the flavor industry. Today, a wide variety of complex meat, poultry and vegetable flavors are available as certified organic.

Organic flavors are available as water- or oil-soluble liquids, as well as spray-dried onto organic maltodextrin or organic gum arabic. Organic yeast also is an important nutritional additive to savory formulations.

One of the challenges to using essential oils and extracts is that they are generally oil soluble, making them difficult to incorporate into water-soluble finished products. These extracts can be rendered water soluble through emulsification with organic gums, or they can be made into alcoholic tinctures. However, liquid extracts that are alcohol-free and water soluble are more prone to microbial growth. Because most synthetic preservatives are prohibited in organic foods, it is important to take microbial growth into consideration.

Fruit and Vegetable Concentrates
Organic fruit and vegetable concentrates can add both color and flavor to processed foods. For example, consumers are used to the pink color of raw, cured bacon. While more healthful, uncured bacon is naturally an unappetizing grey color. Products like beet juice concentrate, available in both powdered and liquid form, can give uncured bacon a more palatable appearance.

Similarly, organic turmeric extracts are used in yellow rice mixes and other dry side dishes. Other organic fruit and vegetable concentrates used for color include black carrot and blueberry. Organic colors can be found in yogurts, smoothies, nutrition supplements, confections and pastries.

Caramel Colors
For decades, caramel colors have been used to provide a more palatable appearance to otherwise dull or colorless foods. Many meat analogs, soups, sauces and dressings would have to be packaged in opaque containers, lest their naturally anemic colors—without the use of caramel color—cause the consumer to find them completely unappealing. These colors are produced by caramelizing sugar, then adding liquid, color enhancers, stabilizers, preservatives and a variety of other ingredients that are strictly prohibited in organic foods.

For years, organic caramel color was one of the holy grails of the flavor and color manufacturer. It has not been the sugar itself, but rather, the stabilization of the extract that has been so challenging. Fortunately, there is now organic caramel color commercially available in both liquid and powdered forms. While it may not provide the same intensity of color at the same concentration levels as does do the conventional products, it can be used with total confidence to color an otherwise dull product and approach the consumer’s expectations.

Compounded Flavors
The final category of organic flavoring materials are compounded flavors. These are blends of essential oils, extracts, concentrates and other ingredients to create characterizing flavors. Flavorists that specialize in organic flavors face the same limited palette as described above. They cannot use synthetic aroma chemicals, emulsifiers and many other commonly used flavor materials. Some compounded flavors can be produced within the 70% category, but is likely that these would not be usable in a fully organic finished product.

The Expanding Palette
Although the palette for organic flavors and colors is limited, the availability of certified versions of these food enhancers is increasing, fostering much opportunity in the processing industry to create delicious and attractive organic processed foods. Children’s lunchboxes are being stuffed with organic convenience foods. Frozen organic entrees are coming out of the microwave for lunch and dinner. The consumer’s expectation is that these foods are delicious, attractive and not so different from the conventional brands that we all grew up with—only more healthful.

The bar has been raised.

Karen Manheimer is Vice President, Natural Products Division of Mastertaste, a Kerry Company. She can be reached at karen.manheimer@mastertaste.com.