Study on Natural Color Extract and Synthetic Color in Food Preparation
Authors:   Asst.Professor Sadabai Raisoni Women’s College, A Yelne Dewalrani 
Published: December 2024

Palash flowers are abundantly available in and around Vidarbha. These are wasted as their importance as
colouring agent is not known. Synthetic colour is commonly used in food preparation and is known to have a
harmful effect on health. So it was postulated to introduce colour of palash flowers in food preparation in
comparison with synthetic colour. Palash flowers were collected dried two methods –sun drying and shade
drying. Colour was extracted by simple household method from both the dried sampled. The shade dried sample
gave a brighter orange colour and hence was used in the experiment.For comparison between natural colour and
synthetic colour three recipes were selected i.e. coconut burfi, Jalebi, Sweet rice, for incorporating the colour and
sensory evaluation was done by judges. To see whether there was any difference between acceptance of recipes
prepared with natural colour and synthetic colour used recipes statistical‘t’ test was applied for all parameters like
colour, taste, texture, acceptability. It was found that there was no significant difference between natural colour
and synthetic colour used recipes in their sensory properties. Result of the study thus proved that addition of
palash colour extract in recipes did not alter their acceptability and were statistically seen to reflect insignificant
difference as compared to recipes prepared with synthetic colour.
Colour is associated with every aspect of our lives and plays an integral role in all our behavioral decisions. From
birth, nature teaches us to make value judgments on our environment based in large measure on colour. Since the
act of eating represents an extremely personal behavior, in that we take part of our environment into us, it is not
surprising that colour conditions our choices. Colour affects our overall judgements on the worth of food from
both an aesthetic and a safety point of view. It plays an important role in taste thresholds, flavour identification.
Food thus creates problems in a technologically oriented society because numbers cannot be assigned to
preference, pleasantness, acceptability and ultimately food choice.
However, its role is elusive and difficult to quantify. a cause-effect relationship, there is a tendency to deny the
existence of that relationship. That has often led to a situation where the role of colour is either ignored or
minimized which, unfortunately, has placed colour in a secondary role to the other sensory characteristics, a
position which is not consistent with the facts. Indeed, the importance of colour in food choices is so
unquestionable that is often taken for granted, a situation which must be re-evaluated in view of the need for the
creation of new and different foods to feed a hungry world.
The colour of food is a significant factor in determining its acceptance. We expect to see food looking natural; a
natural appearance is appetizing, and we become cautious when a food shows an unexpected colour, interpreting
it as a possible sign of spoilage, poor processing or as an indication of adulteration. The association of colour and
acceptance of foods is universal, ethnical, historical and social factors and habits. What may be attractive to one
group may be unappetizing or even repulsive to another.