- Ingredient Name:Beta-Carotene
- Functions:Food Coloring
- Pigment Type:Organic Pigments
ColorMaker Beta-Carotene has been used for centuries to provide a yellow to orange color to foods and cosmetics. Beta-carotene is probably the best known of the largest family of pigments produced by nature, the Carotenoids. Although abundant and extractable from various sources, the beta-carotene utilized by the color industry is made synthetically. This is a relatively new development, with commercial production starting around 1954. This form of beta-carotene, as well as canthaxanthin and apo-8’-carotenal similarly synthesized, are permitted for use as color additives in the US and Europe and are usually referred to as “nature-identical.”.