A national design patent for a food color extraction machine was awarded to Bala Snehitha Shridar, P. Sudha, M. Balakrishnan, and K. Kumaran of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs, and Trademarks of the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry granted this design.
In today’s global market, the use of natural colorants in the food industry has garnered attention due to their harmlessness. Bixin (E 160b) is the second-largest approved natural food colorant by the FDA, providing red-yellow tonality and serving as an alternative to synthetic colorants like sunset yellow FCF, allura red, or tartrazine. Annatto seed coats are coated with a thin, pulpy, bright orange-red resinous coloring matter.
This newly developed food color extraction machine operates on the leaching mechanism without the use of chemical solvents and can be used to extract color pigments from annatto seeds for direct infusion into foods for coloring purposes. This patent reflects TNAU’s commitment to offering an innovative, sustainable natural food color extraction machine for the benefit of the food industry.