Ronald Wrolstad

May 31, 2013
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2013 Clean Label Conference

Presentation: Going Au Naturel: Coloring Considerations

Speaker: Ronald E Wrolstad, Distinguished Professor of Food Science Emeritus, Oregon State University

Ron Wrolstad earned his B.S. in Food Technology from OSU, and his Ph.D. in Agricultural Chemistry at the University of California at Davis. He joined the faculty of OSU’s Food Science & Technology Department in 1965 where he taught courses in food chemistry and did research on the composition and quality of fruits and vegetables.

The importance of anthocyanin pigments in food and beverage color quality, and their use as natural colorants have been a focus of his research. He is a Fellow of both IFT and ACS’s Division of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. He is the recipient of IFT’s William V Cruess Award for Excellence in Teaching. He is author of 183 publications and two patents. In 2005 he was named one of 250 most highly cited scientists in the agricultural sciences in the past 20 years.  He is an editor for the journal Food Chemistry.

2013 Clean Label Conference Presentation Description:
Going Au Naturel: Coloring Conditions

While neither the US nor European Union has defined natural colorings or natural foods, when it comes to food colorants, consumers increasingly have certain expectations when reading a product’s ingredient legend. Naturally-derived colorings provide consumer appeal and perhaps even health benefits. However, working with these ingredients often proves challenging due to differences in stability, functionality, sourcing, range of hues and cost when compared to their synthetic alternatives. From anthocyanins and betalains to caramel and chlorophyllin, this presentation will discuss the limitations and realities of replacing artificial food dyes with “natural” colorants approved for use in foods and beverages.

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