The stability of natural red/pink food colours in ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) products.

Background: The aim of this experiment was to select a pool of potential red/pink natural colour candidates and evaluate their stability during ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) processing and subsequent storage and to compare their behaviour against the artificial colour erythrosine. It was hypothesised that heat processing and post-treatment storage conditions would have a negative effect on the stability of the natural colourants.

Results: All colourants except fermented red rice showed significant colour loss post-UHT processing (α=0.