Food-Specific Challenges and Stabilization Strategies for Replacing Synthetic Pigments with Natural Pigments

Driven by regulatory restrictions, clean-label trends, and health concerns, the food industry is transitioning from synthetic to natural colorants. This review analyzes this transformation, first outlining key drivers reshaping the food coloring landscape. It then evaluates pigment applications across major food categories (soft drinks, confectionery, bakery, dairy, and meat/analogues), highlighting food-specific technical challenges rooted in the inherent instability of natural pigments. Central to this review is an in-depth examination of the mechanisms underlying pigment degradation under environmental stresses (heat, light, pH, oxygen, metal ions, and enzymatic reactions). In response, we critically evaluate emerging strategies to enhance pigment stability, spanning improved encapsulation techniques to AI-assisted formulation design, alongside alternative coloring pathways such as structural color. Advancing synthetic pigment replacement demands shifting from generic approaches to food-specific customization, simplified testing to high-fidelity evaluation, and isolated development to integrated assessments of safety, sensory quality, and economic viability.