Natural food colors
Green
“Green” and “food” go together like two peas in a pod (also green!). A quick glance at the produce section of your grocery store leaves little doubt as to why “greens” is slang for fresh vegetables. The chlorophyl in green plants is responsible for giving plants their color, and is also used to naturally color foods with flavors from cool mints to hot jalapeños, not to mention flavors like lime, kiwi, matcha milk, pear, pistachio, and sour apple. But green from plant leaves is just one natural color option for food manufacturers seeking the perfect shade for a flavor or to celebrate Christmas, Ramadan, St. Patrick’s Day or simply that spring has sprung. Blending blue and yellow natural colors is also a popular choice.
Skip down the page to learn more about green
Green in nature
What green means to people
The history of green being used as a color
Green in food
Why food manufacturers choose Oterra
Green in nature
Green in the plant kingdom
No one knows why plants are green. To look green, the plant needs to absorb blue and red light waves, reflecting green back to the atmosphere. But since most of the energy the sun radiate lies in the green spectrum, it seems strange that plants chose not to absorb green light. One theory is that it would be too difficult to manage the intensity of full sunshine with periods without sunshine, whether it was cloudy or just shady. Plants can maintain a more stable energy production from the blue and red light part of the light spectrum.(1)
Surprisingly, green may be the most common flower color. Many plants, especially trees, bear flowers mostly in green like this elm tree on the left. Chlorophyl is responsible for most green flowers, but betalains are also found in plant families like cacti.(2)
Green in the animal kingdom
Green mammals don’t exist outside of nightmares and fairytales. That’s because mammals are hairy and hair can have one of two pigments producing black/brown or yellow/red. As well, mammals metabolize chlorophyl so it can’t collect under the skin. The only known green mammal is a sloth which becomes green as it ages, but it’s a bit of a trick because the green comes from algea growing on its fur.(3)
Birds, insects and reptiles can be green. Most of the time it is due to structural colors, where tiny structures on the feather or skin refract the color so only green is reflected back to the atmosphere. Hummingbirds, peacocks, poison dart frogs and various lizards all use structural coloring to make their vibrant green coloring. Insects and some butterfly wings can also be green from a combination of a blue die, like a biliprotein, and a yellow carotenoid that looks green.(4) A few bird feathers are green due to a pigment derived from porphyrins, which are produced by modifying amino acids.(5) Green from pigments tends to be duller than green from structural colors.
The natural world
While we think “green” when we think of nature, the reality is that outside of plants and a few animals, green is extremely rare.
Some of earth’s oldest rocks are a green-grey color. They are metamorphic rocks that have undergone alteration from, for example, extreme heat. You can find them in mountainous areas like in the Rocky Mountains of Montana and Idaho, USA or the Blábjörg cliffs in Iceland. Jade is a silicate mineral containing iron, called actinolite. Green in rocks can also come from trace elements of minerals like chlorite, fuschsite, uvarovite, and copper minerals like malachite and azurite. When copper comes into contact with oxygen, its surface eventually turns green.(6,7)
But the most astounding green in the natural world may be the Northern Lights. Here, green is the most common color because oxygen gives off a fluorescent green and yellow color when hit by electrons from the solar system.(8)
The meaning of green
Universal associations with green
Green is a friendly color that soothes and restores. It symbolizes renewal. It’s a generous, relaxing color that balances our emotions so we feel both revitalized and safe, as well as perhaps a bit lucky. For many people, it brings to mind the lush tranquility of grass, trees and forests. It’s thought to relieve stress and heal. (9,10)
In a 2020 study of 4,598 people, the emotion most commonly associated with the color green was “contentment.” (11)
We’re hardwired to like green
The human species began in the forests and savannas of Africa. Most mammals are red-green color blind. Not being able to tell the difference between green and brown may not have mattered for either hunter or prey animals, and it allowed them to have more light recepticals. At any rate, most mammals see better in the dark than we do, and there is some evidence that these mammals are better at detecting camouflauge.
Primates (including us) developed a third cone cell in our eyes which allowed us see red and yellow fruits in the green foliage. In daylight humans can see more shades of green than any other color. And where our eyes need to adjust to see colors like red and orange (long wavelength colors), we immediately see short wavelength colors like green. Some scientists believe our positive association with green comes from evolution, when early humans learned green nature indicated food, water and shelter. (12-14)
Lucky green
Particularly in the US, Ireland, and UK, green is a lucky color, with a special place in Irish tradition. Finding a four-leafed-clover is believed to bring luck, where each leaf represents a different aspect of luck: hope, faith, love and happiness. And of course the leprechauns of Irish folklore are dressed in green. If you catch one, it must grant you three wishes in exchange for its release. (15) It’s probably a coincidence that American bills are green, but lots of bills in your wallet makes most people feel lucky.
It’s not only the Irish that saw green positively. As far back at 8,000 BCE, the Egyptian word for “green” (“wadj”) also meant “flourish.” (13) And it’s one of the three lucky colors in China, symbolizing wealth, fertility, hope, harmony and growth. (13,15, 16)
Green Peace
The story goes that in February 1970, a group of hippies and activists decided to protest a planned nuclear test on the Alaskan island of Amchitka by sailing to the test site. At the end of the meeting, the chairman raised two fingers and shouted “Peace!” Someone in the audience responded with the now immortal sentence “Let’s make that a green peace.” The group named their first boat Green Peace, and the rest is history. Now it’s common for concepts relating to environmental concerns to be referred to as green, as in green energy, green initiatives, Green (political) Parties, etc. (13,14)
Serene green
Green helps put people at ease in new places, and is a popular color for restaurants, hotels and other public spaces. Studies have shown that people exercising while exposed to green are more calm and perceive they’ve used less effort than when exposed to the color red or grey. Even looking at pictures of green scenery has been linked to stress relief, better impulse control and improved focus. Another study showed that people who spent time in nature surrounded by green vegetation had lower blood pressure than those who didn’t. By the way, that is a pastime called “forest bathing” in Japan. (14)
Chicken or egg
The green color in stoplights means "safe to go." It’s hard to say if decisions like that creates these feelings, or if an existing innate sense encouraged us to choose green for the stoplight. A study showed that people remembered emotionally-charged words better when they were written in green. Another study found that the color green elicited feelings of hope and decreased fear of failure. Other study participants associated words related to failure with the color red, and words related to success with the color green.
Creativity seems to be sparked when people are surrounded by green plants, have access to green views of nature, or even see the color green. (14)
The other side of green
Associations with green aren’t 100% positive. It’s also associated with jealousy, illness and poison. Green can bring portents of misfortune as well. Green symbolizes conflict and the act of taking someone to court in Indonesia, and many from South America associate green with death. A man wearing green in China symbolizes his wife has been unfaithful. (17)
It was considered unlucky to wear green in the West until recently. Some say the superstition came from French actor Molière who died on stage wearing a green costume during a performance for King Louis the 14th. Others say it was due to the Swedish chemist, Carl Scheele, who created a shade of green from arsenic to use in wallpaper and fabric. When damp, they gave off poisonous gas. Napolean died from cancer, but in the 1960s, scientists found traces of arsenic in his hair as well as his wife’s and son’s; the Bonaparte home contained Scheele’s Green wallpaper!
If you believe it, you look for it, and in 1920 Gaston Chevrolet died while driving a green racing car. But in the 1980’s when Mountain Dew and Skoal sponsored race cars and unproblematically painted their cars with their green brands, the superstition began to fade. In 2013, when Pantone name Emerald to be Color of the Year, green made a big comeback. (18)
Cultural differences regarding green
Here are the results of several surveys about how various cultures perceive the color green: (19)
West /American: good luck, growth, jealousy, nature Japanese: Eternity, growth, jealousy, nature Hindu: compassion, happiness, insight, religion, life, love Native American: personal power Chinese: growth, life, repels evil Asian: balance, eternity, family Eastern European Arab: god, good luck, heaven, religion African: religion, life, success South American: death
The language of green
The English word “green” comes from the ancient Proto-Indo-European word “ghre,” meaning “grow.” (13) But we associate green with far more than agriculture, as you can read in these idioms using “green.” (20,21)
Greenhorn
Someone who is inexperienced
To be green
Being green means that you have no experience or are naïve.
To be green (II)
Being green can also mean to be environmentally conscious.
Green-collar worker
A person employed in environmentally-focused industries or jobs related to sustainability.
Greenwashing
When a company tries to look more committed to the environment than it actually is.
Off to greener pastures
When someone makes a change, like in work or place of residence, that should make them happier.
The grass is always greener on the other side
When someone thinks what others have is better than what they have themselves. It’s usually erroneous.
To be green with envy
This simply means you are very envious or jealous.
The green-eyed monster
This means to be jealous. The phrase comes from Shakespeare’s play “Othello.”
Greenback
This means money. American bills are green in front and back.
Serious green
Refers to a lot of money.
To be green around the gills
This means to be pale or sickly in appearance.
Green fingers / green thumb
This is a term attributed to someone who is a skilled gardener.
(As) sure as God made little green apples
This means certainly or without a doubt.
Score green
Refers to precuring marijuana, particulary that which is inexpensive or low quality.
Greenlight
When someone gets the greenlight, the topic in question has been approved or agreed upon and they can proceed with it.
The history of green pigments and dyes
Ancient civilizations’ use of green pigments The Egyptians ground malachite from west Sinai to make green paint. They also blended yellow ochre with blue azurite, or used less expensive green earth pigments. The paint was worn by both the living and dead to protect and give vigor. Green was rarely used in ancient Greece, but the Romans used a green earth pigment for wall paintings, or soaked copper plates in wine and then scraped off the green sludge to create verdigris. (Verdigris is poisonous.) Latin had 10 different words for shades of green.
European art In the post classical period, European paintings used green created by malachite for a luminous green or less expensive green earth colors for backgrounds. Green earth pigments were made from clay colored by iron oxide, magnesium, aluminum silicate or potassium. There were large deposits of it in the south of France and in Italy, among other places. Green was an important color because in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the color of clothing showed a person’s social rank and profession. Green was worn by merchants, bankers and the gentry. (The Mona Lisa, painted as the Middle Ages ended, wears green in her portrait.) Beginning in the 1700s chemists discovered how to make synthetic greens like cobalt green, green chrome oxide, viridian green and emerald. Most of them were brighter and more stable, but some contained arsenic or other chemicals that eventually led to them being banned. (22)
Green dyes While the first color we associate with plants is green, it’s a difficult color to obtain green dyes from plants. The neolithic people in northern Europe dyed their clothes green using birch tree leaves, but it was more brown than green. The Egyptians made green fabric by first coloring it yellow with saffron and then soaking it in blue dye from the roots of the woad plant. In the Middle Ages, green dyes for clothing were made from fern, plantain, buckthorn berries, nettle juice and more, but there was no good green dye that resisted washing and sunlight. It wasn’t until the middle of the Renaissance that Europeans stumbled across the old Egyptian secret; they learned to dye cloth first with blue woad and then yellow from local yellow-weed. (22)
Green in food
Green isn’t the first color you think of in manufactured food. Yet it is more common than you might think, likely because there are so many flavors associated with healthy green food. A study of over 5,000 people worldwide found that the taste most associated with green food is sour, followed equally by umami and sweet. (23)
Food manufacturers also use green in their packaging. While dark shades of green are typically linked to more luxurious product, green often implies that the food is healthy, natural, organic, or vegetarian. (24,25)
These perceptions about green packaging seem to be correct. In a 2013 study, people were more likely to consider a candy bar with a green nutrition label as a healthier option than a candy bar with a red nutrition label, even when the nutrition of the two bars was identical. (26)
Natural green food coloring: the Oterra difference
Artificial greens The FDA in the USA has approved 9 artificial food colors, and one of them is green. It’s called FC&C Green No. 3. It’s also known as Fast Green FCF and Food Green 3. It produces a sea green or turquoise color. But since there are two artificial blue colors and one yellow color, there are many ways to achieve a green shade with or without Green No. 3.
There is also an approved artificial green color in the EU. It is called Green S, or E142. It produces a dark, forest green. Green food coloring is typically used in beverages, confectionery, bakery, dairy fats, snacks, seasonings and sauces.
Natural green food colors Oterra is the largest provider of natural food colors to the food manufacturing industry. Since blue and yellow can be blended to make green, it’s possible to achieve the color green with locally approved natural food colors anywhere in the world. There are many yellows but few blues available for blending.
Spirulina is the most common natural blue color, and it’s approved to use around the world. It produces a bright, slightly greenish-blue color as a starting point. Gardenia blue makes a greyish blue; it’s approved by CODEX and used, for example, in Australia and East Asian countries. In 2023 the FDA approved blue from the jagua fruit, or huito, which is sustainably harvested from the rain forests of South America. When blended with yellows, it produces vibrant jewel tones.
Chlorophyll from broad-leaf green plants The EU, together with most countries except US and China, has the added advantage of being able to use chlorophyll from green plants as natural green food coloring. It’s an oil soluble pigment that produces a blueish-green color. It’s called chlorophyll, or E140. When removed from the plant structure, the chlorophyll molecule is not very stable. But when the molecule is placed in a solution with copper salts, the less stable magnesium element in the middle of the molecule falls out and is replaced by a copper element that provides a much stronger bond. This stable molecule is then called chlorophyllin, or copper chlorophyllin. It’s water soluble and provides a much brighter green color that's still a bit blueish. (E141)
The FDA has approved chlorophyll and chlorophyllin in the USA for dry mixes, citrus-based beverages, butter or other high-fat foods and pet food. (27) Chlorophyllin is a very popular dietary supplement in the USA with a reputation of providing many health benefits. (28) Perhaps natural green food colors from plants will one day be allowed to a greater extent in the USA. In the meantime, it’s easy to blend blue and yellow to achieve green food colors.
From left to right, this water ice is colored with FD&C Blue 1 + FD&C Yellow 5 (brilliant blue/tartrazine), broad-leaf plant, turmeric + spirulina, spirulina + turmeric, jagua fruit + turmeric.
From Left to Right, these hard candies are colored with FD&C Yellow #5 + FD&C Blue #1 (Tartrazine / Brilliant Blue), safflower + spirulina, broad-leaf plant, turmeric + spirulina, jagua fruit + turmeric.
From left to right, this panned candy is colored with FD&C Yellow 5 + FD&C Blue (tartrazine/brilliant blue), safflower + spirulina, broad leaf plant, turmeric + spirulina, jagua fruit + turmeric.
From left to right, this panned candy is colored with FD&C Yellow 5 + FD&C Blue (tartrazine/brilliant blue), spirulina + turmeric, jagua fruit + turmeric.
Why choose Oterra's natural green food colors?
Safe
With our Good Manufacturing Practices, you can rest assured our natural food colors meet various requirements and regulations on food coloring. And when it comes to research about health, natural colors win hands down over artificial counterparts.
Superior Quality
No matter your formulation requirement, you can rely on our colors to provide the exact same shade regardless of harvest or production batch. We’ll also help you with color matching to achieve the precise color you’re looking for.
Consistent supply
You don’t need to buy once a year according to the harvest calendar. We produce colors year-round and work hard to ensure they arrive at your door when you need them, both for lab samples, production pilots and production year after year.
Fair prices
We harvest and process pigments from mainly plants, and then carefully formulate them for maximum ease-of-use and shelf life. Color ingredients are a tiny percentage of your cost matrix, so the value of spending more on natural vs. artificial is well worth it.
Unrivaled expertise
We’ll help you develop products with the right shade and sensory qualities that avoid ingredients on your “no” list. And we’ll still be there to assist when you reformulate. There’s a reason we have expertise centers worldwide and the broadest color portfolio in the industry.
Unique innovation
We have a long history of product innovation for the best-performing natural food colors. But there’s more. By solving today’s challenges with solutions for the future, we drive the right kind of change that will ethically lead to innovation we can all be proud of.
Partnership mentality
Your food manufacturing environment is unique. You need a partner who cares about your efficiency and quality as much as you do. And who cares about their own responsible manufacturing and product quality since it becomes part of yours. We do.
Regulatory expertise
Rely on our documentation and certifications to meet your standards and inform your ingredients label development. Our global knowledge of the regulations that can influence your color choice make us your ideal partner whether you produce for home or abroad.
Responsible & sustainable
We were collaborating with farmers for better harvests and worker conditions, as well as cutting use of water and electricity in our factories before anyone required reporting. As a member of the UN global compact with ambitious SBTi-aligned targets, we’re still doing it.
Customizable
We understand that your product development and manufacturing environment is unique, and that's why Oterra offers customizable solutions. We'll help you achieve the shade you need in the right formulation to suit your products’ brand identity.
Organic
If your consumers want organic, look no further than to our range of organic natural food colors, accredited in US and EU. And if they’re looking for kosher, halal, non-GMO, plant-based or even approved for pets, we have that too.
Clean label
We’re with you on a journey together towards natural. How fast you travel depends on your consumers. So if you’re looking for clean label or simply to avoid artificial colors and additives, we’re here to help. Because we believe nature got it.
Oterra is dedicated to providing food manufacturers with natural green food coloring that is not only safe but also sustainable. Our journey to offer the best natural green food coloring is rooted in our commitment to clean, plant-based solutions.
Why wait? Reach out today and let us support your naturally colored food production.
1. Theory about why plants are green
3. Why there are no green mammals
4. Structural green colors
5. Rare green pigments in feathers
6. Rare green rocks
8. Green Northern Lights
9. Meaning of green
10. Associations with green
12: Advantages of red-green color blindness
13: Ancient origins of green
14: It’s easy for people to see green
15. The luck of the Irish
16. Lucky colors in China
17. Green can also be unlucky
18. Superstitions connected with the color green
19. Cultural differences about the meaning of colors
20. Green idioms from The Free Dictionary
21. Green idioms from the Phrases Directory
22. A compilation about green from Wikipedia
23. Green is associated with a sour taste
24. Dark green for premium products
25. Green packaging to signal health and well-being
26. Consumer attitudes about green packaging study
27. FDA approvals for chlorophyll in food
28. Chlorophyllin as a dietary supplement