Food Coloring - The Natural Way

Replacing Red 40 with Israeli Tomato Dye

By Karen Kloosterman

Israel’s LycoRed plant-derived food coloring is the only one of its kind to win the FDA’s green light. The reds and oranges in candies don’t have to be from synthetic dyes. Look at any Israeli dining table and the humble tomato is usually there front and center, diced into a cucumber salad or sliced in big wedges drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.

No one knows fresh tomatoes like the Israelis. It makes sense, then, that the Israeli company LycoRed should corner the market for lycopene, a new super-food and natural dye extracted from the tomato. Lycopene is quickly replacing artificial and animal-based red dyes across America. Health-conscious, vegan, kosher and halal consumers are paying particular attention to this new “green” red dye.

Red food coloring is an attractive way to add a natural tint to milkshakes, red velvet cupcakes, candies and yogurts, but recent evidence on six synthetic dyes, including Red 40, links them to behavioral problems in children. As savvy parents demand better solutions for candies and snack foods, and big retailers such as Starbucks are searching for natural alternatives for their fruit shakes, all eyes are on Israel.

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