Annatto is one of the oldest natural food colorants. Annatto extracts have been used for centuries, particularly in margarine, butter, cheese and other dairy products. Commercial annatto colourings are also known as Rocou or Orlean.

Thanks to years of practical experience and our own research department’s expertise, CSK food enrichment is a real specialist when it comes to annatto colorants. CSK offers a wide range of annatto extract-based food colourants.

Product description and composition:

 Annatto is the widely used name for the colourant derived from the seeds of the annatto tree, Bixa Orellana, which grows in most tropical countries. The seeds are coated with a thin layer of a type of bright red resin. A watery alkaline solution in which the key ingredient is the pigment norbixine, formed by bixine, is used to extract this substance. The extract is purified and standardised. In addition to pigment, it also contains calcium hydroxide.

Characteristics and properties:

Standard available1:

Annatto WS: a water soluble extract, which contains 1.45 % norbixine.

Annatto WS/OS: a water and oil soluble extract, which contains 2.5 % bixine.

Applications in cheese production:

Annatto is added to the cheese milk in order to guarantee the same colour for the finished product all year round. In winter, cows do not eat as much fresh green grass. Therefore the yellow carotene pigment content decreases in the milk fat. Consequently, cheese made from ‘winter milk’ is often lighter in colour. Adding annatto to the cheesemilk compensates this.

The amount of annatto that can be added to the cheese milk depends on the following factors:

type of cheese;

size of cheese (small cheeses need more);

season (more is required in winter);

special consumer wishes or demands.

Packaging sizes:

 CSK’s annatto is available in:

25 kg jerry cans;

Storage and shelf life:

 Annatto cheese colourant can be stored for 3 months without compromising colour strength, provided it is stored in the closed original packaging, in a dark place and between 10 and 20 °C.