Spectroscopic analysis of food dyes: ensuring colour consistency
Sponsored by 
Thermo Fisher Scientific2025-09-24T13:00:002025-09-24T14:00:00
In this webinar we demonstrate the ability to assess a material’s colour using UV-Visible instrumentation. These analyses consist of determining the colour of multiple food dye samples, as well as the colour difference between samples.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) outlines a list of dyes and alternative pigments which are acceptable for use in food products. As this list is subject to change, some commonly used dyes, like FD&C 3, are being listed as unusable and must be replaced with an acceptable dye within a specified timeframe.
This can be a huge challenge. For one colour, there can be many alternative pigments, making it harder to select the best replacement dye. To retain the same appearance for a given colour, these new dyes must be vetted and demonstrate minimal difference in appearance. Consequently, a robust method for ensuring the colour of the new system is indistinguishable from the old pigment is needed.
In this webinar, we show you how UV-Visible absorption measurements can be used to demonstrate the colour analysis process as well as methods of comparison between different red pigments, such as FD&C 3. We will also outline how to determine the optimal conditions to mimic the colour of FD&C 3 through these analyses, indicating how UV-Visible instrumentation can be used to ensure a consistent colour between products when using different dyes.