Natural food colors
Yellow
Yellow is heavily represented in nature, and that’s reflected in the food around us. Practically every category of food contains favorites that are yellow. Lemon, pineapple and banana come to mind for fruit. Dairy has yogurt and cheese. Ice cream has vanilla, which is yellow in most markets. Safron rice, yellow pepper, potatoes, sweet corn on the cob…the list is nearly endless. That’s why food manufacturers need to achieve the perfect shade of yellow in their product development. And why Oterra supplies a full range of natural yellow food colors.
Skip down the page to read more about yellow
Yellow in nature
What yellow means to people
The history of yellow being used as a color
Yellow in food
Why food manufacturers choose Oterra
Yellow in nature
Yellow in the plant kingdom
Carotenoid pigments produce mainly yellow and orange in plants, but occasionally also red and purple. Over 850 of them have been recorded in nature. They are essential pigments for photosynthesis. Chlorophylls transforms light to energy, and carotenoids transfer the energy out of the chlorophylls and protect the plant from damaging light.(1)
The green color of chlorophylls masks the yellow carotenoids all year until the autumn, when the plant stops producing chlorophylls. Then we see the yellow from carotenoids. The same process is responsible for green bananas turning yellow as they ripen.
But we don’t need to wait for autumn to see carotenoids’ colors. In late summer golden yellow flowers like sunflowers and daisies abound. Early-blooming flowers like daffodil and forsythia are yellow to attract the insects that pollinate them. And while most of the yellow comes from carotenoids, some of the brightest yellow colors in flowers are achieved with a combination of the pigment and the highly reflective micro-structure of the petal’s surface tissues which make the yellow almost shine. The common buttercup is an example of this turbo-yellow color.
Yellow in the animal kingdom
Although our bodies don’t produce it, we need carotenoids to produce vitamin A, which is good for vision, a strong immune system and for healthy skin. The antioxidants that protect plants are thought to also have protective functions for us (1). Only one member of the animal kingdom is known to be able to make carotenoids – the tiny aphid. All other animals, including humans, need to ingest carotenoids. Luckily, nature provides us an abundance in plants (2).
The male American goldfinch is a particularly bright yellow during the mating season. This species is vegetarian. So, while many other birds nest in the early spring to take advantage of eating off grubs and bugs, the American goldfinch waits until summer when there is an abundance of seeds. The male has a drab color like the female in the winter months, but during spring molt he utilizes the carotenoids in his diet to produce brilliant yellow feathers. The healthier and more well-fed he is, the brighter his plumage. The bright color signals his health and his ability to find food, an important quality since he feeds both the female while incubating eggs and the hatched offspring (3). In the late summer he molts again and produces drabber olive-colored feathers, probably as camouflage to avoid being seen by predators when the cold weather prevents mating anyway. Even his bright orange beak fades to grey.
Carotenoids are the most common pigment responsible for coloring bird feathers yellow, but they aren’t the only ones. Some have attributed the light yellow of chicks to be related to melatins which normally produce a brown color. Some brightly colored butterflies and poisonous frogs are colored from a combination of structural coloring and the pigment pteridine, which they can produce themselves (4). Melanin is the main pigment found in mammels, and is responsible for a large range of colors from black to sandy to red. Lions and giraffes get their yellow color from the melanin their bodies produce.
The natural world
Most people would describe the sun as yellow. It emits all colors of the wavelength so it actually looks white. But as its light travels through the atmosphere, more blue light is scattered than red, and this slight overweight of red light makes us see the sun as yellow when it is overhead (5).
Yellow is also abundant below us. Iron is partially responsible for this. Iron sulfide lends its yellow shade to the mineral called pyrite, also known as “fool’s gold.” Iron oxide is also responsible for loess, a fine dust that makes fertile farmland. In fact, the Yellow River in China has its name because of the yellowish loess that it carries in its waters .
Sulfer crystals are a brighter yellow than iron. Sulfur-rich volcanic activity is often yellow, as this public domain image from Wikimedia Commons of White Island shows. Many minerals and gems are yellow, ranging from amber which is fossilized tree resin, to yellow diamonds which look yellow due to the amount of nitrogen content in the carbon crystal (6).
The meaning of yellow
Universal associations with yellow
Yellow has multiple meanings
Yellow is the color of sunlight, and in many parts of the modern world it is associated with happiness, optimism, positivity, and intellect. It’s said to inspire thought and curiosity and to boost enthusiasm and confidence. The strongest universal emotion associated with yellow is joy, attributed by 52% of the study’s respondents (7). However, it can also mean the opposite and arouse emotions of distrust, greed, selfishness and is used as a warning color (8). Paradoxically, one 2000 study reported that only 6% of respondents from Europe and America named it as their favorite color.
The Middle Kingdom
Yellow has strong historical and cultural associations in China. In ancient China, there were five directions of the compass, and each was assigned a symbolic color; the fifth direction was the middle, and its color was yellow. China is called the Middle Kingdom, and the Emperor’s palace was considered to be the exact center of the world. The first emperor of China was called the Yellow Emperor and until the last emperor of China abdicated in 1912, yellow symbolized both the political and religious role of emperors. In fact for many years, yellow was reserved for royalty.
The color of exclusion and oppression
The very first Buddha chose the color yellow to be associated with buddhism. In his time, yellow was used to identify criminals, so he chose it to represent humility and detachment from materialism.
In the 8th century, the Islamic Empire assigned a color to every religion and the color yellow was given to Jews.
In medieval Europe, yellow fell into disfavor as it was associated with sickness and decline, as well as jealousy, envy and hatred. People prosecuted with treason or heresy were often dressed in yellow. Around the 12 century, paintings began to portray Judas in yellow robes (9).
A yellow #2
Traditional pencils are made of wood filled with graphite. In the 1800’s, the best graphite in the world came from China. American manufacturers painted their pencils yellow, a color of royalty and respect in China, to signify that they were made from the high-quality Chinese graphite. The hexagonal yellow pencil has become an American icon, albeit a commodity item, even though it was first produced by European manufacturer Koh-I-Noor (10).
50 years of smiley
It’s said the first smiley was created by graphic artist Harvey Ball in 1963 as part of a campaign to help employee moral after a company merger. He was paid $45 for it. It rose to fame as a global icon after being used at French newspaper France-Soir in 1971 to highlight positive news stories. Early versions looked similar to this public domain image via Wikimedia commons. It’s followed modern culture through hippiedom to hedonism and the grunge scene. In the early 1990’s it exploded onto the digital scene when Japanese interface designer Shigetaka Kurita developed the emoji. (9).
Cultural differences regarding yellow
Here are the results of several surveys studying the meaning of color in cultures (11):
Western Europe & North America: cowardice, energy, envy, fun, happiness, jealousy, optimism, peace, warmth and warning
Eastern Europe: mourning
Asia: courage, cowardice, deceit, healthy, holiness, power, respect, royalty, reliable, religion, strength, joy
Egypt: death and mourning
Hindu: Fun, god, illness, joy, love
Native American: danger, insight, love
Arab: strength
Latin America: death and mourning. The ancient Maya associated the color yellow with the direction “south.” The Maya glyph for "yellow" (k'an) also means "precious" or "ripe".
Africa: money and success
The language of yellow
Here are some English idioms that reflect our complex feelings about yellow (12,13).
Yellow-bellied
An American expression which means a coward. The term comes from the 19th century and the exact origin is unknown, but it may refer to the color of sickness, which means a person lacks strength and stamina.
Yellow journalism
News which presents limited research to its findings. In fact, it’s primary aim of sparking reader interest. A more modern term is “fake news.”
Yellow dog Democrat
A hard-core Democrat who would vote for a “yellow dog” before voting for a Republican. Comes from the late 1800’s in reference to Democrats with lingering resentment against the Republicans dating back to the Civil War.
Be on red alert
To be very attentive and ready to act. This term is often applied to soldiers.
Yellow brick road
A path to success. A reference to the path of the same name in the fictional land of Oz, popularized by the film The Wizard or Oz, based on the works of L. Frank Baum.
Yellow-dog contract
(dated) An employment contract in which an employee agrees not to join a labor union for the duration of their employment. Such contracts are no longer legal. Primarily heard in US.
A yellow flag
A warning to be careful or proceed with caution
Yellow jack
A flag flown on a vessel to show that it is under quarantine
Mellow yellow
A nickname for the psychedelic drug lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD).
Give someone the yellow light
Indicate that someone should slow down or proceed with caution.
The history of yellow pigments and dyes
Prehistoric paintings Yellow was one of the earliest colors used in art. Ochre produces a golden hue due to the iron oxide mineral, and it’s long-lasting quality means it’s often discovered at archaeological sites. Some archeologists believe people were using earth pigments to color cave walls, bodies and pottery since prehistoric periods – perhaps as long ago as 300,000 years. The earliest known Neolithic cave paintings are about 20,000 years old, but there have been discoveries of body art in what is now known as Zambia that indicate early humans from before the rise of homo sapiens were grinding ochre pigments for artistic use (9).
Yellow minerals A brighter yellow has been available for the last 5,000 years and was widely used in Egypt and the ancient world. It comes from the mineral orpiment, a crystal easily ground into powder and mixed with water. Unfortunately, it contains arsenic and repeated exposure can be deadly. It was phased out as paint pigment in the 1800’s because of its toxicity and reaction with lead-based pigments. It was initially replaced with Cadmium Yellow, which was also replaced, due to its toxicity, by synthetic azo dye-based pigments.
In fact, other than yellow ochre (also known as Mars yellow), most early yellow colors were either toxic or unstable. Chrome yellow, from the mineral crocoite, is toxic due to lead, as was the early synthetic pigment Naples Yellow, which was used until the the 1900’s.
Yellow dyes from Indo-Asia Plant and animal-based yellow colors fared better but were not without problems. Indian Yellow was a transparent, fluorescent pigment used in watercolors and oil paintings from the 1500’s in India and the 1800’s in Europe. It’s said that it was made from the urine of cows who only ate mango leaves. Production stopped in the early 1900’s allegedly due to the malnourished cows and stench of the making the product.
Gamboge is an orange-brown resin from a tree which becomes yellow when powdered. It’s been used as a watercolor pigment since the 700’s. Turmeric is a plant used as traditional medicine, a spice, natural yellow food colors and dye. Both gamboge and turmeric are used to dye Buddist monks’ robes, with the exclusive saffron reserved to dye the robes of senior monks.
Yellow dyes from Europe and America Moving north and west, the most common source of yellow dye in Europe came from the flowering plant Reseda luteola, also known as dyer’s weed and yellow weed. It’s a plant rich in the flavonoid luteolin and when crushed, it produces a yellow dye. A native of Europe and Western Asia, it’s been used to dye cloth at least since 1000 BC. It was the most common dye in Europe from the Middle Ages until the 1700’s, and was also widely used in North Africa and in the Ottoman Empire.
In the mid 1700’s, dyer’s weed as the most popular yellow dye was replaced by the bark of the North American Eastern Black Oak (Quercus velutina). Called Quercitron (from the latin words for "oak" and "lemon"), it was produced by grinding the inner bark and sifting the fibrous matter from the remaining yellow powder. Synthetic dyes then overtook quercitron’s popularity due to cheaper production methods (14).
Yellow in food
Dazzling yellow Yellow has always been an eye-catching color that can be seen well from a distance. Just as it has often replaced the color red for emergency vehicles and neon signage, it has also become a popular color for packaging and especially “sale” signs. Couple that with the fact that many fresh foods and prepared foods are yellow due to their flavor, and you’ll struggle to walk down a supermarket aisle without an abundance of yellow.
The taste of yellow Ask someone what yellow tastes like, and you’ll be amazed at the breadth of this color: banana, lemon, buttered popcorn, pina colada, golden apples, pineapples, mangoes, canary melon, golden kiwis, star fruit, vanilla, butter mints, butter, cheese, ginger, corn, pears, yellow peppers, rutabaga, crookneck squash, Chinese cabbage, potatoes, onions, butterwax beans, yellow lentils, chick peas and more.
Despite all these flavors, a 2014 study about which colors people associate with the primary tastes of sweet, sour, bitter and salty revealed an overwhelming association of yellow with a sour taste (15).
Natural yellow food coloring: the Oterra difference
The azo-dye route The most common yellow food coloring used today is called Tartrazine, which is a synthetic azo-dye. It’s also called E102, FD&C yellow 5, acid yellow 23, food yellow 4 and more, depending on where you live.
This is the yellow you find in many processed foods like corn chips, potato chips, breakfast cereals, candy, popcorn, mustard, gelatin, soft drinks and more. In some areas, for example the US, the EU, Canada, Brazil, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates, it must be labelled on food packaging due to concerns about possible health issues related to it.
Natural yellow food colors Food doesn’t need to be colored with artificial food colors. Oterra offers a range of natural yellow food colors to food manufacturers who are concerned about transparent production and the health of their consumers and the planet. Our journey to offer the best natural yellow food coloring is rooted in our unwavering commitment to clean and sustainable solutions.
Manufacturers can choose from organic and clean label colors made of carrot to less expensive natural yellow colors from beta-carotene. The yellow color choice can also range from the warm yellows of orange carrot, beta-carotene, sustainably sourced palm fruit, and annatto to the bright yellows of marigold and safflower, to the cool yellow of turmeric. Whatever yellow shade you need to achieve, Oterra can help you with a single color or a color blend that is suitable for beverages, dairy, confectionery, bakery and more.
From left to right, this dairy-based ice cream is colored with FD&C yellow #5 (tartrazine), turmeric, nature identical beta-carotene, fungus carotene, clean label orange carrot.
From left to right, this water ice is colored with FD&C Yellow #5 (tartrazine), turmeric, nature identical beta-carotene, fungus carotene.
From left to right, these cookies are colored with Left to right: FD&C Yellow #5 (tartrazine), nature identical beta-carotene, clean label carrot, fungus carotene.
From left to right, this extruded cereal is colored with FD&C yellow #5 (tartrazine), turmeric, fungus carotene, turmeric, clean label orange carrot.
Why choose Oterra's natural yellow food coloring?
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.
Explore the world of natural yellow food coloring with Oterra
If you're on a quest to infuse your food products with the inviting and cheerful aura of yellow, Oterra is your ideal partner. Experience how easy it is to implement natural yellow food coloring in your production and embrace the clean-label movement that resonates with today's consumers. Let us guide you in achieving your goal for enticing and vibrant yellow-colored baked goods, snacks, confections and more.
Contact Oterra today to learn more about our natural yellow food coloring and discover the endless possibilities it offers. Enhance the appeal of your food products with the benefits of nature's colors.
1. The value of carotenoids
2. Aphids produce carotenoids
3. The yellow in American goldfinches
4. Bright colors in butterflies and poisonous frogs
5. The color of the sun
6. Yellow gemstones
7. Universal emotions about yellow
8. Other emotions associated with yellow
9. History of yellow
10. Yellow #2 pencils
11. There are cultural differences about the meaning of colors
12. Yellow idioms
13. More yellow idioms
14. Yellow overview
15. Yellow associated with a sour taste