Sudan
Red in Paprika Oleoresins . . .
There are an increased number of reports of Paprika Oleoresins showing
illegal azo dye contamination, especially the Sudan reds, albeit at
very low levels (< 50 ppb), or subject to suspicion as being possible
false positive results.
Compounding this situation is the long held difficulty to find consistency
in agreement of results from the different and well respected European
independent laboratories, due to factors such as sampling error and
oleoresin matrix interference. This is making it increasingly challenging,
despite adequate stocks of raw materials, to provide end users with
peace of mind and continuity of supply.
Hawkins Watts Ltd promotes the range of oleoresins from Lionel
Hitchen Essential Oils (UK). Their paprikas (and all blends
containing paprika), come with a Certificate of Analysis and test statement
from an independent UK laboratory, listing 19 synthetic dyes, including
rhodamine, toluidine and all the Sudan reds, which have been tested
and not detected. You can use these materials with full confidence
of their purity!
 For
more information, please contact Stuart Jones at stuart@hawkinswatts.com
Maternity
Leave . . .
Natasha Sabatier is
expecting her first child and will
be going on maternity leave from 1
September 2010.
 Natasha
has been with Hawkins Watts Limited for
6 years, predominantly in our Sales Team,
looking after the Symrise Flavour portfolio,
and more recently has taken up the role
of Marketing Manager.
We wish Natasha and husband, Claude, much luck as they embark on parenthood.
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Tightened
Supply and High Prices for Carmine
. . .
Carmine is made from Carminic acid, produced from the ground bodies
of cochineal insects, primarily grown on South American cactus. It
is a popular ingredient for food and beverage applications both for
its distinct pink, red or purple colour and for its stability in acid
and heat.
Carmine prices have risen by six to eight fold to date in 2010.
Tightened supplies can be put down to a combination of factors, such
as:
 climate
conditions which hampered harvesting;
limited
cochineal
production,
after low
prices several
years ago
prompted
farmers to
switch to
more profitable
products
such as asparagus,
bell peppers
and avocado;
and
demand
from the
food industry
in Europe
increased
as a result
of the overall
trend towards
natural ingredients
( article
here).
Given the current extortionately high price of Carmine and the low
likelihood that pricing will drop in the short to medium term, natural
colour suppliers are looking to replace Carmine with other natural
colours. These include colours based on purple sweet potato, paprika,
red beet and black carrot.
However, one of the challenges in replacing carmine and cochineal extracts,
is that while a similar hue may be obtained, it is difficult to match
the stability properties.
FMC BioPolymer
Price Increase . . .
In May 2010, FMC BioPolymer announced price increases of 10% for MCC
( announcement
here).
Hawkins Watts Limited will implement these when current stocks have
been exhausted.
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