by Mitch Lund
As food and beverage manufacturers move toward cleaner labels and more natural formulations, natural colors present a new set of challenges inside the plant. Derived from fruits, vegetables, spices, and other raw materials, these colors are often sensitive to heat, light, shear, and oxygen, making proper ingredient handling just as critical as the color itself. From receiving and storage to conveying, batching, and mixing, the way natural colors are handled can directly impact consistency, vibrancy, and product quality.
Common Natural Color Ingredients
Paprika • Annatto • Beet & Vegetable Powders • Turmeric • Spirulina • Caramel Colors • Fruit & Vegetable Juice Powders. Often these ingredients can be supplied from paper bags, bag in drums/boxes, bulk bags, or bulk systems and integrated with automated ingredient handling.
Sanitary, Food Focused System Design
Natural color ingredients present unique challenges due to sensitivity to heat, shear, and incomplete wetting. Even minor variations in dispersion can affect shade consistency, product appearance, and overall batch quality. Processors also need equipment that supports sanitary operation while minimizing dust using a dust collector system, waste, and manual handling. HaFSBX addresses these challenges with the VACUCAM® Ejector Mixer, delivering fast, consistent, and gentle dispersion of natural coloring powders in sanitary, closed systems.
Natural Coloring Challenges
- Incomplete wetting, fisheyes, and floating pigments
- Shade variation and batch‑to‑batch inconsistency
- Pigment degradation from heat or mechanical shear
- Long batch times and high labor requirements
- Dusting, sanitation risks, and yield loss
VACUCAM® Technology Overview
The VACUCAM® Ejector Mixer conveys dry color powders into a near‑perfect vacuum created by a high‑velocity liquid stream. The system immediately wets the powder, preventing agglomerates and ensuring uniform, shear-free dispersion. Systems are supplied as skidded VACUCAM® units for single‑pass, batch, or recirculation processing.
Why Natural Color Ingredient Processors Choose VACUCAM®
QUALITY
- Uniform dispersion with no streak or fisheyes
- Excellent batch‑to‑batch color repeatability
- Cold, low‑shear dispersion protects sensitive pigments
CAPACITY
- Rapid powder incorporation minimizes batch times
- High‑capacity systems support scale‑up
- Enables parallel processing vs. sequential addition
OPERABILITY
- Closed, dust‑free induction
- Full CIP compatibility on dry and wet sides
- Low maintenance—pump is the only moving part
- Low energy and labor requirements
Expand Your Color Processing Capabilities
By approaching natural colors as both a sensitive ingredient and a process variable, manufacturers can achieve consistent visual performance while maintaining efficiency, quality, and confidence in clean‑label production. The VACUCAM® Ejector Mixer is a key differentiator for HāFSBX in natural color applications—delivering consistent color quality, improved yields, and efficient production while meeting food‑grade sanitary expectations.
About HaFSBX
HaFSBX has over 50 years of providing proven solutions to dry and liquid ingredient handling challenges.
We design turnkey systems for projects of all sizes. Our team understands our customers’ concerns and takes the time to listen, develop a plan, and communicate along the way. If you need someone you can trust and want to eliminate the stress of managing the details of your next project, contact us today to discuss your next project and how our team can help.
About The Author – Mitch Lund
Mitch has been with HaF Equipment for more than 4 years and leads business development for HaFSBX in the baking and snack sectors. He has been in ingredient handling for 14 years and can be found at many of the industry trade associations HaF actively supports, including ABA, BEMA, and ASB. Mitch is a graduate of the University of Minnesota’s Chemical Engineering program and is passionate about helping customers grow and improve their businesses.
