There is an increasing consumer demand for natural colors in foods. However, there is a limited number of available natural food sources for use by the food industry because of technical and regulatory limitations. Natural colors are less stable and have less vibrant hues compared to their synthetic color counterparts. Natural pigments also have known health benefits that are seldom leveraged by the food industry. Betalains, carotenoids, phycocyanins, and anthocyanins are major food colorants used in the food industry that have documented biological effects, particularly in the prevention and management of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. The color industry needs new sources of stable, functional, and safe natural food colorants. New opportunities include sourcing new colors from microbial sources and via the use of genetic biotechnology. In all cases, there is an imperative need for toxicological evaluation to pave the way for their regulatory approval. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, Volume 11 is March 25, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

中文翻译：

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健康的色彩：化学、生物活性和对彩色食品和天然食品来源的着色剂的市场需求。

消费者对食品中天然色素的需求不断增加。然而，由于技术和监管限制，可供食品工业使用的天然食物来源数量有限。与合成色相比，自然色不太稳定，色彩也不那么鲜艳。天然色素还具有众所周知的健康益处，而食品行业很少利用这些益处。甜菜碱、类胡萝卜素、藻蓝蛋白和花青素是食品工业中使用的主要食品着色剂，已证明具有生物效应，特别是在预防和管理糖尿病、肥胖症和心血管疾病等慢性疾病方面。色素行业需要稳定、功能性和安全的天然食用色素的新来源。新机会包括从微生物来源和通过使用遗传生物技术采购新颜色。在所有情况下，都迫切需要进行毒理学评估，为其监管批准铺平道路。《食品科学与技术年度评论》第 11 卷的预计最终在线出版日期为 2020 年 3 月 25 日。请参阅 http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates 了解修订后的估计值。