WO2014191556A1 - Method for coloring powders for preparing foods - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for coloring solid compositions for preparing an edible product by the addition of water.

Description

METHOD FOR COLORING POWDERS FOR PREPARING FOODS

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to food products and to the coloring of powders for preparing an edible product by the addition of water.

BACKGROUND

Colorants containing natural or synthetic coloring substances are commonly used as additives in the manufacturing of food products and pharmaceutical products. A wide range of such coloring agents is commercially available making it possible for the manufacturer, where a particular color tone is desired, to select a single coloring agent having the desired color or a mixture of coloring agents which in an appropriate combination impart the desired color to the product. Alternatively, the manufacturer may wish to use an agent which, in addition to its coloring effect, has a health beneficial effect and hence select such a single health beneficial agent or a mixture of such agents.

The commercially available coloring agents can contain synthetic substances including substances that are also normally referred to as dyes or azodyes, or such agents can contain pigments or other coloring substances of natural origin, e.g. more or less purified coloring substances separated from plant, animal or microbial materials naturally containing such substances.

Any of the above types of available coloring agents including agents comprising food grade or pharmaceutically acceptable natural coloring substances can be hydrophilic or hydrophobic and, thus, the coloring substances may be water- soluble, sparingly soluble in water and aqueous media or essentially water insoluble. As such the coloring of a product depends on the water contents of the product as well as on the lipid content of the product. Many edible products are sold to the consumer in the form of convenient powders, granulates or cubes such that the consumer directly prepares the edible product by adding water to the powder, granulate or cube. Usually the powders and granulates are offered in sachets, jars or flasks, whereas the cubes are generally individually wrapped and packed in a box. Examples of such products are soups, sauces, sports drinks and infant formula. The final edible product has a high content of water whereas the solid product sold to the consumer in the form of a powder, granulate or cube has a low water contents. Mainly due to this difference in water contents, the color of the solid product is often different from the color of the edible product that the consumer prepares by the addition of water. Whereas this color difference may in some instances provide an interesting effect to a limited number of consumers, it is generally a disadvantage to the majority of consumers and their preferences and quality perception. This means that many food colorants are not suited for the purpose of coloring solid compositions as well as the rehydrated product since the colorants were developed mainly for maximum stability and best coloring of the edible product. When a consumer or customer is preparing an edible product such as a soup or a sports drink by the addition of water to a powder composition, it is an important emotional aspect that the color of the edible product is substantially the same as the color of the powder composition. Consumer preference and consumer acceptance of a food product depends to a high extent on color and flavor. The color of the food product as such is important, but it is just as important that a coherent impression results from adding water to a solid product, namely that the color of the solid product and the rehydrated product remain substantially the same. WO00/70967 describes a composition comprising bodies of a coloring substance that are at least partially coated with a pectin selected from beet pectin, chicory pectin and Jerusalem artichoke pectin. WO2007/009601 describes a colorant composition comprising at least one carotenoid which is dispersed in a matrix, wherein the matrix contains starch or a modified starch. Focus is exclusively on the food, beverage, feed, cosmetic or drug product to be colored, in particular on improving the color by increasing carotenoid concentration.

WO2009/007273 describes a water-dispersible composition comprising at least one hydrophilic, water-insoluble solid pigment and at least 5 wt% of at least one starch octenyl succinate derivative as a hydrocolloid. It is described that the water-dispersible compositions confer a color to the manufactured liquid food product prior to dehydration which is substantially the same as the color of the liquid food product formed after rehydration. No information is provided as to the dehydrated product, and no dehydrated products are prepared. US4,844,934 concerns water-dispersible carotenoid formulations prepared by dissolving the carotenoid in an oil at elevated temperatures until saturation is achieved, rapidly emulsifying with an aqueous protective colloid, consisting of a long-chain fatty acid ester of ascorbic acid and a cold water soluble starch product, and then removing the water.

EP1300394 describes a process for producing a water-dispersible granulated carotenoid preparation. The carotenoids are dissolved in organic solvent and emulsified prior to removal of solvent and concentrating the liquid formulation and thereafter drying to form a powder.

However, studies have shown that it is not possible to remove the organic solvent completely. Traces of the solvent used can still be found in the coloring compositions after the attempted removal of the solvent which is not acceptable under the strict regulations of the food industry. Hence, there is a need for improved methods and colorants for coloring powders and other solid compositions to be used as edible products by the addition of water. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has now been found that the above disadvantages of different coloring of powder, granulate and cubes as compared to the rehydrated edible product can be overcome.

Accordingly, in a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method for coloring a solid composition for preparing an edible product by the addition of water, said method comprising the addition of a natural colorant during manufacture of said solid composition, the natural colorant comprising a natural water-insoluble pigment having an average particle diameter of less than 10 μιτι which is encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch.

In a preferred embodiment the at least one natural colorant is prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent and, during the manufacture of said solid composition, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method for substituting at least one non-natural colorant in a solid composition for preparing an edible product by the addition of water, said method comprising the addition of at least one natural colorant during the manufacture of said solid composition, the natural colorant comprising a natural water-insoluble pigment having an average particle diameter of less than 10 μm which is encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch.

Preferably, the at least one natural colorant is prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent and, during the manufacture of said solid composition, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

In a third aspect the present invention provides a bouillon cube comprising stock derived from at least one of meat, poultry, fish and vegetables, sodium chloride and a natural colorant, said natural colorant comprising a natural water-insoluble pigment having an average particle diameter of less than 10 μm which is encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch.

Preferably, the at least one natural colorant is prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent and, during the manufacture of said bouillon cube, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

In one embodiment the natural water-insoluble pigment is curcumin. In another embodiment the solid composition has a water content of less than 5%.

In another aspect the present invention provides the use of a natural colorant comprising a natural water-insoluble pigment having an average diameter of less than 10 pm which is encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch for the

manufacture of a solid composition for preparing an edible product by the addition of water.

In a preferred embodiment, the at least one natural colorant is prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent and, during the manufacture of said solid composition, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

In a further aspect the present invention concerns a method for making a hydrated, edible product with at least 70 wt% water, said method comprising : i) making a solid composition by the method according to the first aspect;

ii) addition of water to the solid composition made in step i) to obtain the hydrated, edible product with at least 70 wt% water. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method for coloring a solid composition for preparing an edible product by the addition of water, said method comprising the addition of a natural colorant during manufacture of said solid composition, the natural colorant comprising a natural water-insoluble pigment having an average particle diameter of less than 10 μιτι which is encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch.

"Solid composition" means a composition in a solid state which is to be used by the consumer or customer as an edible product once water has been added. It is to be understood that a solid composition can be in any solid form, e.g. as a powder, granulate, flakes, mass or compressed material in any geometrical form such as cubes, tablets, pellets etc. The solid composition may be a homogeneous product or it may be a heterogeneous product comprising a mixture of different solid compositions. The addition of water may be in the form of cold water optionally followed by heating the mixture, or it may be in the form of hot water, optionally followed by mixing, incubation and the like. Non-limiting examples of a solid composition are soup powder, bouillon cube, infant formula powder, and sports drink powder.

In one embodiment of the invention the solid composition is selected from a powder drink, soup powder, sauce powder, pot noodle, meal replacement powder, infant formula powder, sports drink powder and an energy drink powder, optionally in the form of a compressed powder or a granulate.

As used herein, the term "edible product" denotes any liquid or solid food product. Edible products include homogeneous products as well as

heterogeneous products. For instance, one homogeneous product is a sports drink, and one heterogeneous product is a pot noodle soup. Occasionally, food grade or pharmaceutically acceptable colorants are provided that contain coloring substances in the form of synthetic or artificial compounds having substantially the same chemical composition as naturally occurring coloring substances. This type of colorants is also referred to in the art as "nature identical" colorants. However, in the present context, the term "natural water-insoluble pigment" is used to designate pigments or other coloring substances which are derived from a natural source.

The water-insoluble solid pigment may be hydrophilic or, alternatively, hydrophobic. In the present invention, the term "hydrophilic water-insoluble pigment" refers to a pigment which is generally insoluble in aqueous media below neutral pH but soluble in aqueous media at a pH in the alkaline range. Accordingly, the hydrophilic, water- insoluble pigment dissolves in alkaline media but precipitates at a pH level below 7. A pigment being sparingly or generally insoluble is to be understood as having a solubility in water of less than 5 g pigment/L water at 20 °C.

The hydrophilic water-insoluble solid pigment can be any food grade or pharmaceutically acceptable coloring substance which is not or only sparingly soluble in water or aqueous media below neutral pH but can be made soluble by the addition of alkaline to the water or aqueous phase.

Suitable natural water-insoluble solid pigments according to the present invention are carotenoids, metal chelates of carminic acid (carmin lake), chlorophyllin and bixin.

Carmine, also called Crimson Lake, Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470 or E120, is a pigment of a bright red color obtained from Coccus cacti. Normally the aqueous extract is precipitated as the insoluble aluminum or aluminum calcium lake known as cochineal carmine which is soluble in alkaline aqueous media but sparingly soluble in aqueous media having a pH below about 9. Carmine is used as a food dye in many different products such as juice, ice cream, yogurt, alcoholic beverages, sweets, eye shadow, lipstick, etc. Although principally a red dye, it is found in many foods that are shades of red, pink, and purple.

Carotenoids are widely used as coloring agents in the food industry and in the pharmaceutical field. Known hydrophilic, water-insoluble carotenoids, which can be used in the present invention, are norbixin and crocetin.

Curcumin is the principal curcuminoid of the Indian curry spice turmeric. The curcuminoids are polyphenols and are responsible for the yellow color of turmeric. Since curcumin is brightly colored, it may be used as a food coloring. As a food additive, its E number is E100.

Chlorophyllin is based on water soluble salts of derivatives of phaeophobide a or b. As a food coloring agent chlorophyllin has the E number E140. Chlorophyllin is also available as nutritional supplement. Preliminary evidence from in vitro and animal studies suggests that these substances may have anticarcinogenic activity.

The term "hydrophobic water-insoluble pigment" as used in the present invention is to be understood that the pigment in the amounts used herein is water- insoluble or sparingly soluble in water so that the pigment will occur as a separate phase in aqueous media or has such a high degree of hydrophobicity that it cannot be homogenously dispersed or suspended in water without the use of considerable shear stress or addition of surface active substances such as emulsifying agents. Most of such pigments will be soluble in lipid substances.

Suitable hydrophobic water-insoluble solid pigments for use in the present invention are hydrophobic carotenoids such as [beta]-carotene, bixin,

apocarotenals, canthaxanthin, saffron, crocin, capsanthin, capsorubin, lutein, astaxanthin, rubixanthin, violaxanthin, rhodoxanthin, lycopene and derivatives thereof. Preferably, bixin is used in the present invention.

The term "non-natural colorant" means the colorants that are synthetic and are not found in nature. As such non-natural colorants do not include the "nature identical" colorants, Non-limiting examples of non-natural colorants are

Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow FCF, Brilliant blue, Indigotine, Fast Green FCF,

Erythrosine, Quinoline Yellow, Carmoisine and Ponceau 4R. There are several ways to classify the color of a substance. Generally the color characteristics of a substance may be characterized by three parameters: the hue, the saturation and the lightness. Hue is an attribute associated with each of the dominant wavelengths of the visible spectrum and reflects the dominant color of the composition (reddish, yellowish, bluish, etc.). Saturation pertains to the intensity of the color composition and lightness reflects the amount of white or black in the color composition. When measured in a tristimulus system, e.g. a Minolta 310 apparatus or a DataColor 650 apparatus, saturation is expressed by the parameter "chroma", hue is expressed in degrees by the parameter H and lightness is expressed by the parameter L. Chroma, H and L, measured at a standard pigment concentration, may be used as a way of characterizing and comparing different color preparations of the same pigment. Especially the chroma is very important. Generally, a high chroma for a certain pigment concentration is desirable. Accordingly, a color may be characterized by its chroma value reflecting the "coloring power" of the substance.

To prepare the natural colorant composition for the present invention, the natural water-insoluble pigment is suspended in water or an aqueous medium comprising at least one hydrocolloid selected from starch octenyl succinate derivatives. Starch octenyl succinate is the common name given to starch n- octenyl succinate which is made by treating starch with n-octenyl succinic anhydride at pH 8 - 8.5, and it is denoted "nOSA modified starch". This starch derivative is anionic due to a carboxyl group and hydrophobic due to the Cs- alkene chain. Preferably, starch octenyl succinate derivatives having a degree of substitution (D. S.) up to 0.11, more preferably up to 0.03 are used within the present invention. nOSA modified starches are commercially available, such as Cleargum (Roquette Freres), HiCap 100 (National Starch), and Capsul TA (National Starch). In one embodiment of the present invention the nOSA modified starch is HiCap 100 (National Starch)

The nOSA modified starch is suitably used in an amount of at least 5 % by weight based on the total weight of the natural colorant composition (wt%).

Preferably, the amount of the nOSA modified starch exceeds 10 wt%, even more preferred at least 20 wt% of the hydrocolloid are used . In order to obtain satisfying coloring results, the amount of the nOSA modified starch should not exceed an upper range of 50 wt%.

The aqueous suspension comprising the natural water-insoluble pigement and at least one hydrocolloid selected from starch octenyl succinate derivatives does not contain an organic solvent. The suspension also does not contain a fatty acid ester, such as a fatty acid ester of ascorbic acid, such as ascorbyl palmitate.

The next important component of the natural colorant for the present invention is the natural water-insoluble pigment. Typically, an amount of 2 wt% to 60 wt% of the natural water-insoluble pigment is used. In another embodiment, 5 wt% to 50 wt% of the natural water-insoluble pigment is used .

The natural colorant used in the present invention may further comprise other components, such as a plasticizing agent, an antioxidant, a stabilizer, a preservative and the like. The natural colorant to be used in the method of the present invention may be prepared by mixing the ingredients followed by comminution to obtain small discrete pigment bodies and to encapsulate the pigments with the nOSA modified starch. A suitable comminution method is milling, such as ball-milling. Comminution is continued until an average particle diameter of less than 10 pm is obtained. In one embodiment the particle diameter of the natural colorant is less than 5 pm. In another embodiment the particle diameter of the natural colorant is less than 2 μιτι, such as less than 1 pm. Organic solvents which are frequently used to dissolve pigments, such as carotenoids, curcumin and bixin, are detrimental to the health of the consumer. It has been found that an organic solvent is difficult to remove from the colorant once a pigment has been dissolved therein and generally traces of the solvent are still detectable in the final colorant and in the product colored with the colorant. By avoiding suspending the pigment in an organic solvent during preparation of the natural colorant, the solid composition prepared by the method of the present invention is highly safe for the consumer.

Further, handling of organic solvents in a production environment is difficult and expensive due to the necessary measures that have to be taken to protect the working environment and to prevent explosions. The use of organic solvents for preparing the natural colorant should therefore be avoided, Thus, in preferred embodiments the at least one natural colorant is prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent.

Many fatty acid esters have characteristic tastes and odors which can lead to off- flavors when the fatty acid esters are introduced into edible products. It is difficult to remove all traces of fatty acid esters and therefore avoiding the use of fatty acid esters when preparing a natural colorant for coloring edible products with a broad range of flavors is preferred.

As an example, ascorbyl palmitate, which is often used as a food additive due to its emulsifying and/or antioxidant activities, has a slightly acidic and fruity taste.

Thus, in preferred embodiments the at least one natural colorant is prepared without the use of fatty acid esters. Preferably, the at least one natural colorant is obtained by a method for preparing the at least one natural colorant comprising the preparation of a suspension of the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment by comminuting the at least one pigment in an aqueous medium in the presence of at least 5 wt% of the at least one nOSA modified starch as a hydrocolloid, whereby the at least one natural colorant is prepared without suspending the at least one water- insoluble pigment in an organic solvent. In a preferred embodiment the suspension is dried after comminuting the at least one pigment.

The drying of the suspension can be performed by techniques known in the art including but not limited to spray-drying and/or evaporation.

Preferably, the suspension is dried by spray-drying .

When preparing the solid composition according to the invention the natural colorant comprising a natural water-insoluble pigment having an average particle diameter of less than 10 μm which is encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch is mixed with the other ingredient of the relevant solid composition. Mixing may be performed with the solid and dry components directly.

In a preferred embodiment the water content during manufacture of the solid composition is less than 5 wt%, such as less than 4 wt%, such as less than 3 wt%, such as less than 2 wt%.

Mixing may alternatively be in an aqueous phase which is then dehydrated in order to obtain the solid composition. Another way of producing the small discrete particles may be a controlled precipitation from a solution of the pigment. For the hydrophilic pigments this may be done by lowering of the pH of an alkaline solution of the pigment.

The natural colorant is added in an amount so that a suitable color is obtained for the solid composition as well as for the edible product prepared by the addition of water. In one embodiment the natural colorant is added in an amount so that the concentration of said natural water-insoluble pigment in said solid composition is in the range from 100 ppm to 2000 ppm. The most common physical formats in which such solid compositions are available are powders, flakes, granulates and cubes. Unit-dosage can be a distinct advantage, e. g. in terms of convenience, dosing, and appearance. The conventional cubes can be made by batch-wise mixing all ingredients and extruding the mixture (optionally under application of heat to melt fat) followed by cutting the extrudate. Alternatively, the cubes can be prepared by mixing all ingredients and pressing into shapes, such as by using Fette press for powdery material or a Corazza press for pasty material . The term "cube" means a unit dose format that can have the shape of a cube, but it does not mean that the unit dosage should necessarily have traditional cube shape (i.e. a block with the size in all three dimensions the same, it can also be in the shape of a block, bar, tablet, brick, cylinder, pyramid, cone, ball or other three-dimensional shape. Depending upon size, concentration and aim, one unit of such a cube (whatever shape) is usually sufficient for preparing between 100 and 1000 ml edible product (or even up to 3 or 5 liters for catering

purposes), or can be used for seasoning 100-1000 g food matter. For the purpose of this invention, all such shapes are herein referred to as a "cube". The appearance of the currently available cubes when unpacked and ready for use is usually more or less uniform, and the color is quite different from the edible product prepared by the addition of water. For the currently available curcumin colored cubes the color of the cube is often light brownish to pale yellow, whereas the edible product prepared by addition of water has a different bright yellow color.

According to the third aspect the present invention provides a bouillon cube comprising stock derived from at least one of meat, poultry, fish and vegetables, sodium chloride and a natural colorant, said natural colorant comprising a natural water-insoluble pigment having an average diameter of less than 10 pm which is encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch. In a preferred embodiment, the at least one natural colorant is prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent and, during the manufacture of said bouillon cube, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

In one embodiment said bouillon cube comprises a natural water-insoluble pigment which is curcumin. Using curcumin according to the present invention the following examples show that bouillon cubes have a color which is much more consistent with the color of the bouillon produced by adding water to the cube.

In another embodiment, the bouillon cube according to the present invention comprises a vegetable fat component and maltodextrin. Additional ingredients of a bouillon cube may be starch, flour, monosodium glutamate, nucleotides, preservatives and the like.

In another embodiment the bouillon cube according to the present invention has a water content of less than 20%, such as less than 15%, less than 10% or less than 8%.

In another embodiment the bouillon cube according to the present invention has a water content of less than 5 wt%.

To make a hydrated, edible product a solid composition with less than 5 wt% water is made by the method according to the first and second aspects of the present invention. Subsequently, water is added to the solid composition to obtain the hydrated, edible product.

In a preferred embodiment the hydrated, edible product contains at least 70 wt% water, such as at least 75 wt% water, such as at least 80 wt% water, such as at least 85 wt% water, such as at least 90 wt% water. In a further aspect the present invention, thus, relates to a method for making a hyrdrated, edible product with at least 70 wt% water, said method comprising : i) making a solid composition by the method according the first or second aspect of the invention;

ii) addition of water to the solid composition made in step i) to obtain the hydrated, edible product with at least 70 wt% water.

Preferably, step ii) involves stirring the hydrated, edible product. Any combination of the above-described elements, aspects and embodiments in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

The terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents as used in the context of describing the invention are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. Thus, "a" and "an" and "the" may mean at least one, or one or more.

The present invention is described in further detail in the following examples which are not in any way intended to limit the scope of the invention as claimed. All references cited are herein specifically incorporated by reference for all that is described therein.

EXAMPLES Example 1

This example shows the difference between coloring of a bouillon cube accordin to state of the art and coloring of a bouillon cube according to the invention.

Materials and methods Two color products were tested in a model bouillon mass.

The model bouillon cube mass was prepared as follows:

Ingredients:

Base mix:

Extra salt: 330 g

Extra palm oil stearin : 150 g

Procedure:

Base mix

Base mix was prepared as follows:

Salt and citric acid were mixed in a mortar.

Water and caramel were added and all ingredients mixed into a homogenous mass

Maltodextrin was weighed out and poured into a food processor (Braun Type 4262)

The mass comprising salt, citric acid, water and caramel was added to the maltodextrin and gently mixed in the food processor.

The palm oil stearin was melted in a microwave oven at approximately 50°C. While the food processor was running the palm oil stearin was slowly added kept running until the powder appeared homogenous. Model bouillon cube mass

The extra salt was mixed with the test color in a mortar.

The color-salt blend was mixed with the base mix in a kitchen aid (Kenwood

Major Titanium) The extra palm oil stearin was melted in a microwave oven at approximately 50°C and added slowly to the colored base mix while the kitchen aid was running Stirring was continued until a homogenous mass was obtained.

Finally the finished colored model bouillon cube mass was formed into cubes

Color products

0.3 % CapColors T-15-WSS-P-500 (state of the art color product containing 15 % curcumin)

0.3 % I-Color Yellow 902 A WSS-P (natural colorant product according to the invention containing 15 % curcumin)

Measurement

Visual characterization of the finished colored bouillon cubes Results:

0.3 % CapColors T-15-WSS-P-500 gave a very dull brown color (poor coloring effect of the yellow color)

0.3 % I-Color Yellow 902 A WSS-P gave a bright yellow color (good coloring effect of the yellow color)

Example 2

A suspension consisting of 15.0 wt% nOSA starch (HiCap 100, National Starch, E1450), 31.5 wt% turmeric powder and 53.5 % demineralized water was prepared. When the starch had been dissolved and the turmeric powder had been sufficiently wetted the suspension was run through a laboratory ball mill (Dispermat SL VMA-Getzmann GmbH). After 5 runs through the mill a mean particle of 0.5 microns was measured on a Malvern MasterSizer.

The color preparation was subsequently dried on a standard laboratory spray dryer. Example 3 a) 4 kg of a suspension consisting of 2845 g of demineralized water, 640 g of nOSA starch (Purity Gum 2000, National Starch, E 1450), 4 g or potassium sorbate, 98 g of ascorbic acid and 408 g of beta-carotene crystals (NHU) was prepared.

When the starch had been dissolved and the beta-carotene crystals had been sufficiently wetted the suspension was run through a laboratory ball mill (LabStar, Netzsch) in recirculation mode. After 1 hour of recirculation a mean particle size of 1 micron was measured on a Malvern Mastersizer. b) A composition for spray drying was prepared as follows: 4744 g

demineralized water, 7 g K-sorbate, 2039 g malto dextrin (SPG 20, Avebe) and 210.8 g of the beta-carotene suspension prepared under a), pH was adjusted to 3.0 by addition of citric acid. c) The composition prepared under b) was then spray dried in a conventional pilot scale spray dryer (Mobile Minor, Niro).

Example 4

The color of bouillon cubes were compared visually and by spectrophotometric measurements to the color of ready bouillon made on the bouillon cubes.

Figure 1 shows the bouillon cubes and ready bouillon made with the CapColor® T-15-WSS-P-500 or I-Colors® Yellow 902A WSS-P, respectively, as described in Example 1.

Table 1 and 2 show tristimulus color values obtained from reflectance mode measurements with Datacolor 650 on the bouillon cubes and the ready bouillon, respectively.

Claims

1. A method for coloring a solid composition for preparing an edible product by the addition of water, said method comprising the addition of at least one natural colorant during manufacture of said solid composition, the at least one natural colorant comprising at least one natural water-insoluble pigment having an average particle diameter of less than 10 μm which is encapsulated with at least one nOSA modified starch and being prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent, wherein, during the manufacture of said solid composition, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

2. A method for substituting at least one non-natural colorant in a solid composition for preparing an edible product by the addition of water, said method comprising the addition of at least one natural colorant during the manufacture of said solid composition, the at least one natural colorant comprising at least one natural water-insoluble pigment having an average particle diameter of less than 10 μm which is encapsulated with at least one nOSA modified starch and being prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent, wherein, during the manufacture of said solid composition, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

3. The method according to claims 1 or 2 wherein said natural water-insoluble pigment is curcumin.

4. The method according to claims 1 or 2 wherein said natural water-insoluble pigment is selected from carotenoids, metal chelates of carminic acid

(carmine lake), chlorophyllin and bixin.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one

natural colorant is obtained by a method involving drying the suspension comminuting .

6. The method according to any of claims 1 to 5 wherein said solid composition is a bouillon powder, granulate, flakes or mass.

7. The method according to claim 6 wherein said solid composition is a bouillon cube.

8. The method according to any of claims 1 to 7 wherein said solid composition is selected from a powder drink, soup powder, sauce powder, pot noodle, meal replacement powder, infant formula powder, sports drink powder and an energy drink powder, optionally in the form of a compressed powder or a granulate.

9. The method according to any of claims 1 to 8 wherein said natural colorant is added in an amount such that the concentration of said natural water- insoluble pigment in said solid composition is in the range from 100 ppm to 2000 ppm.

10. Use of at least one natural colorant comprising at least one natural water- insoluble pigment having an average diameter of less than 10 μm which is encapsulated with at least one nOSA modified starch and being prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent for the manufacture of a solid composition for preparing an edible product by the addition of water, wherein, during the manufacture of said solid composition, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

11. A bouillon cube comprising stock derived from at least one of meat, poultry, fish and vegetables, sodium chloride and at least one natural colorant, said at least one natural colorant comprising at least one natural water-insoluble pigment having an average diameter of less than 10 μηι which is

encapsulated with a nOSA modified starch and being prepared without suspending the at least one natural water-insoluble pigment in an organic solvent, wherein, during the manufacture of said bouillon cube, the water content is less than 5 wt%.

12. The bouillon cube according to claim 11 wherein said at least one natural water-insoluble pigment is curcumin.

13. A method for making a hydrated, edible product with at least 70 wt% water, said method comprising :

i) making a solid composition by the method according to any of claims 1 to 9;

ii) addition of water to the solid composition made in step i) to obtain the hydrated, edible product with at least 70 wt% water.