In the past, consumers were not receptive to blue food and even regarded it as "dark cuisine". However, with the advancement of the social media age, blue food and beverages have emerged as a new food color that dominates the cover.

In the social media age, consumers increasingly attach importance to brightly hued foods and beverages. Jennifer Zhou, the senior director of product marketing for ADM North America, remarks that "the beverage photos most shared on social media tend to feature fun and vivid colors such as blue, green, and purple. Whether it's blue latte art or gradient drinks ranging from blue to purple to pink, the color creativity in food has never been more thrilling." The bright and splendid color of blue has also enticed many consumers to come and try. Blue ice cream, blue candy, blue pastries... A variety of foods and beverages with blue as the main tone have emerged, and under the market-driven force of "color food", the clamor and pursuit continue to intensify.

When it comes to the natural pigment of blue, due to its relatively scarce natural source and the instability caused by external environments such as high temperatures, light, and pH changes, natural blue pigment has always struggled to assume a true "protagonist role". As one of the three primary colors in nature, blue is a key component for creating various tones. Under the current consumption trend of pursuing naturalness, the demand of food manufacturers for natural blue/green pigments is escalating, and both domestic and foreign markets are consistently in short supply.

Compared with artificial pigments, natural pigment raw materials originate from animals and plants in nature, which boast the advantages of safety and reliability, absence of toxic and side effects, and natural coloration. The natural pigments derived from these raw materials are mainly red and yellow, while blue pigments are extremely rare. Among the 56 pigments listed in China's Standards for Food Additiv Use, there are fewer types of blue natural pigments, and one of them is gardenia blue.

Gardenia blue is a food additive produced from the fruit of Gardenia Jasminoides Ellis. It is extracted through processes such as water or edible ethanol, enzymolysis (β-glucosidase), addition of edible amino acids, refinement, and others. It has a maximum absorption peak between 580 nm and 620 nm and demonstrates strong coloring potency.

Furthermore, gardenia blue pigment can also be combined with various natural red pigments to create different shades of purple. Therefore, gardenia blue pigment has a wide application scope in food processing.

Gardenia blue pigment has been widely employed in many countries around the world. It has bright color, strong coloring power, light resistance, good heat resistance, and stable PH within 4-10. The product quality standard " National Food Safety Standard Food Additive Gardenia Blue" (GB 28311-2012) stipulates the sensory, physical, and chemical indicators of gardenia blue. Specific references are as follows:

Its specific application industry categories and usage are in accordance with the relevant provisions of the "GB2760 National Food Safety Standard for Food Additive Use". More details please refer to the table below:

In the blueberry-flavored food color, gardenia blue is often present. Additionally, some manufacturers employ gardenia blue in combination with other natural pigments of various colors to achieve food colors such as purple and cyan. For more color needs and to learn more information, please click below to enter Jinghao Mall.