The world of confectionery is known for its bright colours. For their full radiance to enfold, however, these colours frequently require the participation of a somewhat inconspicuous colour: white. Especially when it comes to sugar-panned confectionery, a whitening agent is typically needed as a covering layer between the darker core and the coloured coating.
With VIVAPIGMENTS® White, CAPOL is launching a natural whitening agent that meets the special requirements of confectionery manufacturers when it comes to the hard-sugar panning process. These naturally based white pigments can be used as an alternative to the commonly used titanium dioxide (TiO2), which has come under increasing debate as a food additive. VIVAPIGMENTS® White is characterised by its ability to achieve a high level of opacity thanks to a special colour technology, as well as its ease of product application.
As an alternative to titanium dioxide, VIVAPIGMENTS® White does more than simply make the application convenient since it can easily be stirred into the sugar solution. Thanks to special rice protein encapsulation technology, the calcium carbonate-based product also provides excellent opacity. This is particularly important for efficient whitening. Depending on the specific application, a dosage of 0.3% to 1.0% can typically be used. “Initial feedback confirms that customers were able to achieve good results in production-scale trials even at a dosage considered low for an alternative whitening agent,” explained Dr. Valeria Reim, CAPOL Product Manager.
In the European Union, a ban on titanium dioxide as a food additive came into force on August 7, 2022. This new constraint has pushed confectionery manufacturers to change their product formulations. In other world regions, the former number-one whitening agent is now also under debate among manufacturers and consumers alike. “We know from our confectionery customers that natural whitening agents that achieve an excellent whitening effect at an appropriate dosage continue to be in high demand,” added Dr. Reim.
CAPOL has brought many years of know-how from the confectionery industry to the development and application of VIVAPIGMENTS® White and combined this with its knowledge gained from the unique VIVAPIGMENTS® technology for natural colour pigments. The encapsulation of natural colourants in a rice protein matrix is what makes it possible to create natural pigments with exceptional stability as well as colour opacity. And thanks to its greater naturalness, it also offers manufacturers an opportunity to follow the clean label trend. “For a consistently natural result in the sugar panning process, we recommend combining VIVAPIGMENTS® White with VIVAPIGMENTS® natural colours, as it opens up a wide range of possibilities for efficient panning with bright colour results,” said Dr. Reim.
