The effect of storage on the colour of paprika powders with added oleoresin

The use of natural food colours is preferred to that of arti­ficial dyestuffs for modern alimentary purposes. Paprika is a spice plant grown and consumed in considerable quantities worldwide and also used as a natural food colour, so the colouring power of powders is very important. The colour of paprika powder is highly relevant too because the consumer concludes its colouring power based on its colour. The colouring power of paprika powders is directly determined by the quality and quantity of the colouring agent of paprika. The paprika oleoresin, that is an oil soluble extract from the fruits of Capsicum Annum Linn or Capsicum Frutescens, is suitable to raise the colour agent content of paprika powders. We investigated how the colour and the characteristics of paprika powder samples with added oleoresin change in the course of storage. The colour agent content of 7 different quality powders was increased with 7-75% using oleoresin. The initial colour agent content of samples changed between 41 and 169 ASTA units. The powders were made from Chinese, Peruvian, and Hungarian paprika. Colour measurements were performed with a HunterLab MiniScan colour-measuring instrument. The CIELab colour system was used for colour characterization. The colour agent content and the colour coordinates of samples were measured throughout 9 months. The decrease of colour agent con­tent varied between 22 and 51 percent, while the average reduction was 33 percent. The quantity of added oleoresin did not influence the colour agent content decrease significantly.

The values of colour difference changed between 2 and 4.5 units. The initial paprika powder influenced the variation significantly, but the quantity of added oleoresin did not have a significant effect.