Food color additives

There are three primary colors (from a beam of light); namely, red, green and blue. Cone-shaped light detectors in the human eye detect these colors and each cone is sensitive to a range of each of these colors. One type of cone is sensitive to primarily red (R cone), then green (G cone) and blue (B cone).

The brain interprets the intensity of the light; if only R cone detects the light, then it must be red. If light is detected by two cones like R cone (less intense) and B (more intense) our brain concludes it must be yellow. So much Science so early in the morning!

The color of food is an integral part of culture and the enjoyment of life. Let’s take the culture of the Chinese people and one of the best places to visit is Hong Kong, not the traditional tourist traps but places like public markets where local people shop. To my surprise, I could not find any white egg sold in the market; neither could I find white feathered chicken or geese! All were colored brown. This was also true in Malaysia because only brown eggs are sold there.

On the other hand, we hardly see any brown eggs sold here in Cebu. True, there are few small brown eggs here and there, but all regular size  chicken eggs sold in the market are white. Our eyes associate small brown eggs as native eggs and are supposedly more nutritious as compared to white eggs. Native birds are practically endangered and unscrupulous businessmen add food color additives like coffee (or extracts from avocado leaves) to transform small white eggs to brown. Instant Bisaya!

Additives are dyes, pigments or substances that can impart color when applied to food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the regulatory body and they are classified as “certifiable” or “exempt from certification.” The former are man-made and undergo an “approval process” by the FDA while the latter are pigments derived from natural sources – plants (turmeric), animal (squid ink) or man-made substances (like caramel) coming from natural sources.

Certifiable color additives come in two forms, “dyes” (water soluble) and “lakes” (insoluble in water). Samples are available in your nearest grocery where you find bottles marked FD&C Blue No. 1, Green no. 3, Red no.3, etc. And my beloved readers of this column know that FD&C means Food, Drug and Cosmetic. Very bright man, gyud, my loyal followers!

Exempt from certification are pigments from natural sources like squid ink and your favorite food columnist wrote about this pigment found in Adobong Nokos nga may Ata (Cebuano Cusine).

Some naturally occurring pigments are now added to noodles and we have several types of pancit produced by Chef Glenda Barretto. She has marketed pancit kalabasa (squash), pancit guso (seaweed) and pancit ube (yam).

In a previous article, The Most Expensive Spice in the World, I wrote about saffron that costs about 70,000 pesos per kilo. It contains a substance called crocin that imparts a rich golden-yellow color. It is considered to an absolute essential paella ingredient (to provide the flavor and taste) and even the smallest amount of saffron added turns the “mere special to exquisite.” For the poor, I mean, the economically deprived, who have yet to benefit in the country’s rise in GNP, pwede na, luyang dilaw na lang (tumeric).

In Nonya cooking (Malaysian Chinese), they use the bunga telang or Blue Pea Flower (Clitoria ternatea) as a natural food dye for cakes, dumplings and kuehs, particularly the white and blue rice steam kueh called the pulut ta tai, served as a dessert. The same flower called dok anchan in Thailand is used to prepare the Chor Ladda, a nice looking dumpling with minced pork and prawn.

Unfortunately, some of this food color additives can be toxic and your favorite food columnist was a victim of this poisoning. Last Christmas season, there was too much work, eating all those delicious food and drinking those expensive drinks that I have to temporarily take a breather by eating only rice and uyap or ginamos nga hipon. We add bits of pork fat, red chilies and lots of garlic to the shrimp and that is a complete meal.

The next day, red colored urine and laboratory confirmation of an infection! Possible liver or kidney damage was in the horizon; this means more laboratory tests, medicines, doctor fees and the fact that your favorite food columnist could not take any alcohol beverages while under medication, that was a most frightening scenario. To sum up all the expenses, that was the most expensive ginamos I ever had. Goodbye kang ginamos nga hipon ka!

I need a substitute since the Year of the Rat is fast approaching and I need a respite from all those scheduled work this week in celebrating the Spring Festival. Fortunately, other Asian countries produce this stuff and it is nice to have a Korean friend like Jae –Young Yoo. I am now using the Korean version of salted, pickled tiny shrimp, the sae wu jut .

 Advance Kung Hei Fat Choi!