Monascus red is natural colorant extracted from red yeast rice by ethanol. It has a history of thousand year in China, which has the following characteristics:
1. Steady with pH value
The alcohol solution of monascus red is still stable when the pH value is 11. The color of its aqueous solution turns only under the environment of strong acid or strong alkali.
2. Good heat resistance
Processed under 120° C for sixty minutes, the color of aqueous solution doesn't turn obviously. It can be seen that aqueous solution is very steady under the processing temperature of meat product.
3. Nice photostability
Monascus red is steady with light; And its alcohol solution is quite stable in ultraviolet radiation but its tint will be weakened in the strong sunlight.
4. Not affected by metal ion
Monascus red is quite stable to Ca2+, Mg2+ and Cu2+.
5. Not affected by oxidizer and reducer
When ascorbic acid, sodium sulfite or hydrogen peroxide are added in the monascus red solution, its color isn't be changed.
6. Good water solubility
Monascus red is very easy to dissolved in water, and also easily solube in ethanol, propanediol, propanetriol and their water solution. But it is not solube in fat and non-polar solvents.
7. Good coloring performance
Red yeast rice is easy to color protein or raw materials with more protein, color on which is difficult to remove after coloring.
8. Good safety
Monascus red has very good safety. Animal experiment indicates that any food made of edible monascus yellow does not cause any acute chronic poisoning.
Application
Monascus red is widely and typically used in coloring for cooked meats product, cakes, fruit or vegetable juice, protein beverage, carbonated beverages, flavoring beverages (including fruit flavored beverages, milk flavored beverages,tea beverages etc.), solid beverages, compound wine, pudding etc., for its excellent coloring ability and good water-solubility alcohol-solubillty. Please also refer to local related laws and regulations in production.
Specification
| Items | Specification |
| Appearance | Purple red, without moldy, no impurities, powder. |
| Smell | Special and natural fragrance of kojic |
| Color Value (E495±10nm) | ≥60 |
| Moisture (%) | ≤6 |
| Arsenic (As) (ppm) | ≤1 |
| Lead (Pb) (ppm) | ≤5 |
| Total Plate Count (cfu/g) | <1000 |
| Mold (cfu/g) | ≤25 |
| Yeast (cfu/g) | ≤25 |
| Citrinin (μg/Kg) | ≤50 |
| Aflatoxin B1 (μg/Kg) | ≤5 |
Pakage
1kg/bag(box), 10kg/ctn
Shelf-life and Storage
Two years. Need to be stored in tightly closed containers with a cool and dry environment.