Health, convenience and sustainability are key food trends. So, it’s no wonder that more manufacturers are advertising products as “free of preservatives, food coloring and artificial flavors.”  Sternchemie says red palm oil makes it possible to combine enjoyment and health. The oil is derived from the flesh of the palm fruits, whose high carotene content gives them an intensive red color. The company’s SternRed red palm oil is color- and heat-stable, flavor-neutral, and can be used as a problem-free substitute for synthetic colorings, such as beta-carotene. It also offers price advantages over other colorant ingredients, such as carrot extract. When used for deep-frying, it gives crisps and chips a golden-yellow coloring. It also gives an appetizing color to cakes and biscuits, desserts, ready meals and pasta, margarines, mayonnaise and dressings. The big advantage is that red palm oil need only be declared in the ingredients as vegetable oil, making it very declaration-friendly. As a natural product, it also has a positive image. In some European markets, red palm oil is still not familiar to consumers, but it already is being termed a “healthy oil” on many health portals. Gentle processing means that SternRed also has no trans fats. – Sternchemie GmbH & Co. KG