A Texas Candy Company Switched To Natural Dyes — But It Wasn’t Easy

Natural dyes, which are derived from plants, produce, spices and minerals, person not been scrutinized arsenic intimately by researchers for their wellness effect aliases nan imaginable for contamination, experts say. They are besides not taxable to nan aforesaid stringent testing requirements arsenic synthetic dyes. That has raised concerns among immoderate nutrient experts and user advocates astir nan unintended consequences of this displacement — and whether it will really make nutrient safer and healthier.

“The important point to retrieve pinch each colors, whether earthy aliases synthetic, is that they are thing much than trading devices for nutrient companies, to make foods look a definite way,” said Thomas Galligan, a toxicologist who useful for nan Center for Science successful nan Public Interest, an defense group. “At nan extremity of nan day, they aren’t strictly necessary. And truthful it’s important to measurement nan consequence against nan benefit.”

Eric Atkinson says he ne'er thought synthetic dyes were unsafe. But erstwhile he publication nan constituent lists for his company’s candies, which his family has been making since nan Great Depression, they ever struck him arsenic retired of place.

About 12 years ago, nan institution yet decided to make nan leap. “We were truthful adjacent to being each earthy aliases each elemental ingredients that we conscionable went up and went there,” he said.

He knew really captious it was to get nan colour correct for nan Chick-O-Stick, nan company’s astir recognizable product. All nan packaging for nan candy mimics nan colour of nan product, which Atkinson describes arsenic “amber.”

“They opportunity successful nan manufacture that sensation is king, but colour is queen,” he said. “The queen is very important.”

Working pinch nutrient scientists for dye manufacturers, nan company’s value power squad started testing mixtures of earthy dyes to replicate nan Chick-O-Stick’s signature hue. After years of testing, they came up pinch a operation of dyes derived from turmeric and rootlike juice — first trying beets earlier settling connected radishes. But they later discovered that nan colour faded nether LED light. This year, they switched again to annatto, a celebrated earthy colorant made from nan seeds of nan achiote tree.

Another astonishment was nan funky smell that came from immoderate of nan earthy colors. Atkinson recalls 1 peculiarly pungent dye made from reddish cabbages that smelled for illustration rotting garbage, though nan odor quickly dissipated erstwhile nan candy reached nan cooking step, wherever it’s heated to complete 300 degrees.

Eric Atkinson, CEO of nan Atkinson Candy Company, speaks pinch visitors to its mill successful Lufkin, Texas.Courtesy Atkinson Candy Company

That wasn’t nan extremity of nan challenges. Unlike synthetic dyes, which are easy produced successful U.S. labs, nan ingredients that shape earthy dyes are often imported. That introduces a big of complexities, including logistics, costs and merchandise information issues.

In March 2021, a instrumentality vessel sewage stuck successful nan Suez Canal, making headlines worldwide. It besides created a caller headache for Atkinson: The vessel was carrying nan radishes utilized to create nan Chick-O-Stick colour astatine nan time, sending nan institution scrambling for alternatives.

Even without specified obstacles, it tin beryllium reliable to find capable earthy materials for earthy dyes. It takes a sizeable magnitude of seasonally grown nutrient — whether it’s radishes, reddish cabbages, blueberries aliases aureate beets — to make dyes from fruits and vegetables. Carmine, a vibrant reddish colorant, is made from cactus-dwelling insects successful Central and South America; 70,000 of those insects are required to create conscionable complete 2 pounds of dye.

Sourcing challenges often mean higher prices: One awesome dye shaper recently estimated that earthy dyes costs astir 10 times arsenic overmuch arsenic nan synthetic versions.

And past it tin beryllium a matter of convincing consumers. Though nan colour and quality of nan Chick-O-Stick had remained nan same, not everyone was happy astir nan caller formulation of a classical candy.

“We had a batch of pushback erstwhile we went to nan earthy colors,” said Atkinson. “Most of nan feedback that we sewage was, ‘Quit changing our Chick-O-Stick.’”

Still, income stayed steady, Atkinson said.