FOOD AND HEALTH ESSENTIALS

US FDA amends colour additive exemption

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken action to allow the use of spirulina extract to seasonally colour hard-boiled egg shells.

Spirulina extract is a natural substance that is sometimes used to impart a natural blue or blue-green colour to certain food products. The FDA had previously approved the use of spirulina as a colour additive in candy and gum products, and had sought comments earlier this year on a proposed rule to expand its use as a colouring agent for the shells of hard-boiled eggs. (Consumers often colour hard-boiled egg shells as part of certain holiday festivities, such as Easter.)

The expanded approval will now allow food producers to provide consumers with a natural blue colour agent for hard-boiled egg shells. 

The complete text of the FDA’s final rule on the exemption of spirulina can be accessed here.