A Review on Annatto Dye Extraction, Analysis and Processing – A Food Technology Perspective

Consumers’ preference to natural colours for edible purposes is of general interest. Annatto dye also called as poor man’s saffron is widely used in the food industry. Annatto is obtained from the thin resinous aril portion of seeds of Bixa orellana - a tropical plant of great agroindustrial interest. Bixin and norbixin are the main components of annatto colour which imparts red to yellow hue to the food matrix. Annatto is the most sought after natural colorant in the food industry in view of its availability, affordability and viability. It also finds wide use in cosmetics, pharmacy and dyeing purposes. An outline of recent developments in annatto dye extraction, efforts to improve the extract yield, stability aspects of annatto color in food products, potential viable methods to be employed for better economic prospects is warranted which will be useful to prospective entrepreneurs.