Understanding pH Stability in Natural Colors
Why pH is the first question to ask
A natural color that looks perfect in a beaker can shift, fade or turn muddy within days once it's dosed into a real application. The single biggest variable behind that is pH. Anthocyanin- and carotenoid-based pigments respond to their surrounding acidity in very different, very predictable ways, which is why the first question our applications team asks isn't "what shade do you need" but "what's the pH of your base?"
The low-pH group: built for beverages
Colors like our Strawberry Red, Cranberry Red, Blackberry Red and Elderberry Red are rated for a 2.5–4.2 pH range with very good acid tolerance, squarely in beverage and fruit-preparation territory. These shades come from safflower, carrot and elderberry, sources whose pigments are naturally stable in acidic conditions. Push them into a neutral-pH dairy system and stability drops off; that's expected, not a defect.
The neutral-pH group: built for dairy and bakery
Raspberry Pink, Spirulina Blue, and the Gooseberry, Apple and Mint Green shades sit at the opposite end: a 4.0–7.0 range with limited acid tolerance, sourced from beetroot, spirulina and safflower-spirulina blends. These are formulated for dairy, bakery and confectionery, where the base isn't fighting the pigment's chemistry. Dose one of these into a low-pH beverage and you'll see the instability our spec sheet already warns about.
Heat and light are the second filter
Once pH is matched, heat and light stability decide whether a color survives pasteurization and shelf life. Most of our safflower- and carrot-derived shades rate "Very Good" on both. Spirulina-based blues and greens rate "Moderate," and Spirulina Blue specifically is not pasteurized, which is why it's flagged separately on our packaging and handling guidance rather than bundled with the rest of the line.
The practical takeaway
Match pH first, then confirm heat/light exposure against your process. Get those two right and turbidity, dosage and shade become a formulation conversation rather than a stability gamble. Our full pH range, acid tolerance and stability data for all 14 shades is in the Natural Colors technical data sheet, available on our Resources page.