Southampton Six – A Simple Guide to Professional Regalice Colours
‘Southampton Six’ has become an accepted way of referred to the use of some synthetic colours in food products. Some Renshaw Professional Regalice products currently contain these colours and the information below gives you some general background on ‘Southampton Six’, why and how the Professional Regalice products are affected, and what changes to these products will be occurring in the near future.
What is ‘Southampton Six’?
Research conducted by Southampton University identified the six food colours shown below as possibly being responsible for behavioural changes in children. Since July 2010, products containing these colours have had to carry a warning to this effect. The colours (which are normally identified on packs by their’E’ numbers) are:
:
- Tartrazine (E102)
- Quinoline Yellow (E104)
- Sunset Yellow (E110)
- Carmoisine (E122)
- Ponceau 4R (E124)
- Allura Red (E129)
At the same time, EU food policy and legislation is working towards removing synthetic colours in food and The UK’s Foods Standards Agency (FSA) is closely monitoring companies using synthetic colours. Although there is some debate that these colours affect children or anyone else in the manner described, EU food policy is moving firmly towards their removal.
Why are these colours in Renshaw Professional Regalice products?
The main reason people use Professional Regalice coloured icings is to achieve consistent and strong colour, and to achieve a colour that is acceptably light-fast over time. Also, to have a product that tastes as ‘neutral’ as possible. Synthetic colours are proven to excel at meeting these needs. Not all Professional Regalice colours contain these ‘Southampton Six’ colours. Those that DO currently contain these colours are:
Professional Yellow 5kg, 250g
Professional Pink 5kg, 250g
Lincoln Green 5kg, 250g
Poppy red 5kg, 250g
Orange 250g
Atlantic blue 5kg, 250g
Peach 5kg
Baby blue 5kg, 250g
Shell pink 5kg, 500g
Lilac 250g
Bottle Green 5kg, 250g
So what is Renshaw doing about Southampton Six?
We have closely monitored customer preferences since this issue arose. Since late 2010 there has been a change in customer preferences away from synthetic to natural colours and from April 2011 you will see Renshaw embarking on a conversion process to move the current colour range out of Southampton Six colours. The intention is to remove the ‘Six’ from all Professional Regalice colours (with one exception - see below) in the course of 2011. We will issue regular updates on the conversion process on our website.
2011 is an exciting year for the Professional Regalice range as Renshaw also intends to introduce a range of exciting new colours and with a new pack design and case format too. All these new additions will be free from ‘Southampton Six’ colours and again, further details can be found at WWW.renshawnapier.co.uk
How will the reformulation affect the products?
Renshaw has significant experience in producing coloured icings with natural colours, so we already know what to expect. The positives will be a range of colours that are free from all artificial colours. But there are some inevitable downsides:
- Natural colours are not as light-fast and will be more prone to fade over time. This will require both retailers and consumers to take care that the product is not exposed to light any more than is necessary. The rate at which the product may fade is down to a number of uncontrollable factors and if this is crucial to you, we can advise further on how you can do your own tests to understand the effect.
- Our aim is to match as closely as possible the existing Professional Regalice colour standard. However, some differences between ‘old and ‘new’ formulations may be apparent and we suggest you take this into consideration when planning important work.
- One important difference you will see is in our RED colour offerings. The current Poppy Red cannot be replicated using current natural colour systems. We know this a popular primary colour and so we will exceptionally continue to offer this to at least offer choice on the shade and constitution of these products. We will be keeping the status of Poppy Red under review. We will be introducing Ruby Red as a non Southampton six alternative.
- Many natural colours are derived from plant sources and so sometimes carry the flavour and aroma of the plant(s) concerned. Sometimes, the amount of colour required to achieve a particular shade can result in the flavours being discernible in the finished product. So some colours may have a flavour that has not previously been evident.
We are pleased to announce we will start production of the new recipes for launch into the trade in May 2011.
We hope this addresses your concerns about our Professional Regalice colours range. Remember, the best way to keep up to date on new launches and all other useful information on this range is through regular visits to our website.
Yours Sincerely
Clair Edvartsen
Customer Services Controller
Renshawnapier