As per the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), its Mysuru-based institute, CSIR–Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), has carried out four grant-in-aid projects on food additive annatto – a natural orange-red condiment and food coloring derived from the seeds of the Bixa orellana tree, native to tropical regions — with three funded by the ministry of food processing industries (MoFPI) and one by the department of biotechnology (DBT).
The institute is part of the CSIR Mission Mode project ‘Bioresource Conservation & Prospection (CSIR-BioCap),’ which focuses on developing vitamin E-enriched annatto oil for food and cosmetic uses. CSIR–CFTRI has developed post-harvest technologies such as a batch-type percolation process for annatto dye extraction and a low-cost seed separator machine with a capacity of 100 kg per hour.
It has also standardized various annatto-based formulations—oil-, water-, sugar-, acid-, and propylene glycol (PG)-based—for diverse food applications, ensuring suitable color concentration and performance across products like sweets, dairy, bakery items, and fast foods.
Tailor-made formulations based on water-soluble carbonate systems were found suitable for use in hard-boiled candies, vermicelli, gold fingers, and foods such as biryani and vegetable manchurian.
Similarly, PG-based tailor-made formulations were found suitable for traditional sweetmeats such as boondi laddu and motichoor laddu, as well as dairy and bakery products including butter, cheese, biscuit cream, bakery cream, and icing cream. The sugar-powder formulation was found convenient for application in hard-boiled candies, jalebi, jangri, and boondi laddu , as well as dairy and bakery products including butter, cheese, biscuit cream, bakery cream, and icing cream.
Additionally, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University notes that annatto is moderately drought-tolerant and typically planted during the monsoon (June–September), while the Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, has developed precision silviculture and canopy management practices to enhance seed yield.
This information was shared in the Lok Sabha by minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) in response to a query.
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Naresh Khanna – 10 February 2025
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