Cresco, Iowa - Business owners, farmers and other community members attended an open house for a new food processing center in Cresco on Jan. 7 to learn about a unique way to produce a natural alternative to Synthetic Red Dye #40 from "purple corn." During the open house, community members received tours of the new branch of Suntava, a Minneapolis-based development-stage group. The new center, which opened in October, is located inside the Cresco Food Technologies facility. Suntava has created a natural purple corn hybrid from which natural red dyes are extracted for use as a healthy alternative to synthetic dyes found in many foods and cosmetics. The processing center in Cresco will extract these natural dyes from the purple corn hybrid. The dye is then used in products such as soda, hard candy, yogurt, soups, liquor, frosting and supplements, among others in the food and cosmetic industries. The highly concentrated dye closely resembles the color of synthetic Red #40. "We manage the entire process from the seed to our customer's hand, ensuring consistency, quality and security," said Suntava CEO Bill Petrich. Five times more prevalent in our diets today than 30 years ago, synthetic dyes are considered enough of a health risk that The Center for Science in the Public Interest has petitioned the FDA to ban the use of some synthetic dyes and to make the public more aware of the health concerns surrounding them.
The European Union has adopted legislation requiring labels be attached to products, warning consumers of adverse effects of synthetic colorants on children. In the United States, Whole Foods Market lists artificial colors as "unacceptable." Full Story: http://www.crescotimes.com/archive/x743981947/Minnesota-based-company-opens-food-processing-center-in-Cresco
