ThermoBlue
Developing a natural blue food colouring
The ThermoBlue project aims to develop a natural, healthy, sustainably produced and safe food blue food colouring.
The food industry has a strong interest in sourcing natural food colouring, which consumers find more desirable than artificial food colouring. Blue food colouring has limited natural availability and is therefore one of the most sought-after colours.
Thermostable phycobiliproteins (PBPs) from thermophilic microalgae can be used as natural stable colours in a wide range of food products, such as dairy and beverages. In addition, PBPs can also be used in cosmetics, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries, expanding the application well beyond food.
The ThermoBlue project will develop a natural blue food colouring using PBPs from microalgae which grows at high temperatures, enabling contamination-free production. As well as providing a natural stable blue pigment from microalgae, the production of ThermoBlue will use clean energy.
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