Name of student: Nguyen Giang Yen Tho – BTFTIU18118

Submission to: Associate Professor Pham Van Hung

Submission date: Friday 14th, 2021

COURSE: FOOD ADDITIVES AND FOOD PACKAGING

ASSIGNMENT 1: FOOD COLORANTS

Assignment
Choose one kind of food product containing a coloring agent. Discuss:
- Information of food product
- Information of coloring agent: Type, E-number, characteristics, functionality
- Amount of food additive in the product
- Your opinion: Good, bad, etc.

The food product is chosen: CHUPA CHUPS FRUIT FLAVOR GUMMY BEAR
CANDY

Figure 1. Chupa Chups gummy bear candy

1.1 Food product information:

Chupa Chups belongs to the producer group Perfetti van Melle that manufactures a wide
range of products including Alpenliebe, Mentos, Big Babol,… and Chupa Chups can be
found in the product line.
 Gummy Bear Candy:
- Shelf-life: 3-6 months
- Serving size: 24gram
- Carbohydrates: 21 and 22 grams of sugar.
- Other ingredients: not considerable.

The specialty of Chupa Chups is targeted at children, which contains a myriad of shapes,
colors, and fruit flavors that attract the consumption of kids.
Hence, the product ingredient consists of artificial colors that suit the needs of children:

Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Wheat Flour, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Acidity Regulator, Malic
Acid (296), Citric Acid (330), Natural Fruit Flavor, Synthetic Color Brilliant Blue FCF
(133), Tartrazine (102), Sunset Yellow FCF (110), Carmoisine (122).

1.2 Information about Food Colorants

In brief, synthetic colors were added due to the process to enhance the color of candies,
which consists of:
- Synthetic Color Brilliant Blue (E133)
- Tartrazine (E102)
- Sunset Yellow FCF (E110)
- Carmoisine (E122)

Table 1.2. The color table in 1 candy package

Name E-number Category Description Characteristic Functionality Dosage
Brilliant E133 FD&C Artificial Mixing with Enhance the Safe dose
Blue Blue No. candy under feeling of requirement
1 powder form freshness of FDA

Tartrazine E102 FD&C Artificial Mixing with Enhance the Safe dose
Yellow candy under feeling of requirement
No. 5 powder form eating lemon of FDA
for children
Sunset E110 FD&C Artificial Mixing with Enhance the Safe dose
yellow FCF Yellow candy under feeling or requirement
No. 6 powder form eating an of FDA
orange
Carmoisine E122 FD&C Artificial Mixing with Enhance the Safe dose
Red No. candy under feeling of requirement
10 powder form eating of FDA
strawberries
1.3 Advantages and Disadvantages

a. Advantages
Food color enhances the outer appearance of food, makes food look more appealing that
provokes the appetite in humans. Moreover, food colors help customers to diversify
different types of food, people tend to choose the color they like for the food they eat.
Meaning that enhancing colors will help to attract more customers, food color choices
depend on the personality of the people that chose them. Some like the yellow of lemons,
some like the red color of cherry.

In this case, food colorants help to increase the income of manufacturers and prolong
the shelf-life of candies on the shelves. Using food colorants also attracts children to
buy candies because kids love colorful objects.

b. Disadvantages
According to some research, food colorants may enhance the irritation in skins, which
possibly leads to some types of allergies. Controversies have been revolving around the
use of food colorants in food since not all evidence supports the use of food colorants.
Some other also argue that food colorants as red, yellow may cause hypersensitivity in
children. Asthma is also one of the causes that backfire the use of synthetic color in food.
What is more important, eating too many candies will consequently lead to obesity and a
high level of blood glucose.

To conclude, there are parallel results in using synthetic food colorants, what should be
taken into consideration is the suitable amount for consumers, as well as the shift towards
sustainable color from nature to promote well-being.