Production and application of natural food colourant from Thermomyces sp

This paper presents a small scale batch technology for production of natural extract which can be utilized as food colourant. This technology was designed based on the laboratory tests performed on Thermomyces sp; it allows very simple way for production of valuable product for food industry which acts as an antioxidant, antimicrobial and food dye. The pigment was identified using combination of UV-visible spectral data, HPLC and FT-IR as a quinone pigment with ë max at 424nm. After extraction and purification the colourant was suspended in water for evaluation. The stability of the pigment was tested in both solutions and when incorporated in food products. Thermomyces sp pigments was applied to a few food products like cookies, rice wine, orange squash and guava jelly. Sensory tests inferred that orange squash, cookies and rice wine had recorded high acceptability followed by guava jelly.