July 20/Hørsholm, Denmark/Press Release -- Chr. Hansen is introducing a series of FruitMax® solutions developed specifically for applications in the American food and beverage industries. The FruitMax range for the U.S. market, which includes seven shades from red to violet, are all processed from edible, natural sources such as fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. This origin allows food manufacturers to label the ingredients as color: fruit and/or vegetable concentrates.

“Historically, the U.S. market demand for natural colors has not been as strong as the European market demand, but the past couple of years we have experienced a considerable increase in requests from US food manufacturers looking to replace artificial colors with natural alternatives,” states Kurt Seagrist, Chr. Hansen’s senior vice president of Colors.

“One specific sub-trend is the rising consumer demand for ‘clean label’ food products, meaning foods with few food additives listed on the product label. Particularly in the dairy segment, we see many food product launches focusing on an ‘all natural’ positioning.”

From the July 21, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News.