Weyermann makes organic colour for beer, bakery, beverages

The Bamberg-based company is mainly involved in making 80 varieties of malt and eight varieties of liquid malt extract (including some organics).

Until now, it has offered only one all-natural liquid malt colour, for use in beer, baked goods, tea, soft drinks, spirits and pharmaceutical goods.

The introduction of a new, organic version of colour is an indication that even small-scale players in the food ingredients market are seeing potential in an area that is attracting considerable consumer interest.

According to estimates from Organic Monitor, the global organic products market exceeded €30m in 2006.

However the consultancy has warned that undersupply of organic produce and ingredients could hamper growth potential in the next few years - an opinion that underscores demand.

The new take on the original Sinamar vacuum-evaporated dark-beer concentrated is brewed entirely from de-husked organic Weyermann Carafa roasted malt, which is, in turn, made from non-genetically modified brewing barley in accordance with the German reinheitsgebot, or purity law.

The reinheitsgebot allows for the use of only four ingredients in the production process: malt, hops, yeast and water.

The colour is the result of the extraction process, which involves vacuum evaporation, fine filtering, and direct filling of containers at a temperature of between 70 and 75 degrees centigrade.

This process also renders the extract less bitter, according to the company.

The organic colour is to be known as Bioland Sinamar, taking the first part of its moniker from the German certification association for agricultural products, which has deemed it to meet all applicable EU organic regulations.

In addition, attention to the natural quality of Weyermann's small offering is warranted at a time when considerable attention is being paid to the safety of artificial colourings, in the light of the on-going review by the European Food Safety Authority and the recent Southampton study from the UK, which linked certain colours to hyperactivity in children.

This has engendered a general suspicion of E-numbers, which are used to describe natural as well as artificial additives (particularly in the UK but more and more in the rest of Europe too).

However Weyermann says its Sinamar colourings can be labelled simply as "malt extract", " barley malt extract " or "roasted malt extract".