Introduction

            Food colourings are classified as two different types, which are natural and synthetic colourants. Natural colourings are pigments derived from natural sources such as vegetables, fruits, minerals or animals while synthetic colourings are derived from chemical substances such as aniline, a toxic petroleum product. Permitted food colourings can be listed for reference and usually within the range of E100 to E180. Although natural food colourings are better for health than synthetic food colourings but the production cost is high and may require in larger amount to give same effect as small amount of synthetic food colourings. Therefore, synthetic food colourings are favored by most of the manufacturers in the term of profits.

            Despite of being natural, safe for consumption and cause no harm to health, natural food colourings are less preferred due to its low stability and factors causing offset color lost due to heat, temperature and pH [3]. Natural food colourings tend to be required in larger amount to give colour to food and this may add stronger flavor to the food, which could make the food overly flavored.