Squash blossoms as an alternative food coloring

Rain Jeneil T. Sirilan

Squash blossoms (called courgette in Great Britain) are the edible flowers of Cucurbita species,
particularly Cucurbita pepo, the species that produces zucchini (courgette), marrow, spaghetti squash, and
many other types of squash, (BBC Good Food, 2020) usually blooming in the summer or the winter in some
countries. Squashes are the flowering plant of the gourd family. Usually comes in different types, the most
common one in the Philippines being the Cucurbita maxima L. (calabasa) commonly grown throughout the
Philippines and blossoming in October to December and May to July. (Magsasaka, 2020). Squashes from
edible blossoms are called squash blossoms. They are the blossoming flowers of the squash plant and come
in shades of yellow or orange. The impressive bloom fades from a light green to a plate yellow, then back to
a brilliant orange (Weg, 2018). Squashes are monoecious, bearing both female and male blossoms. Female
blossoms produce the fruit while male blossoms are used as dishes. (Bolanos, Hernandez, Lozano, Servia, &
Guzman, 2013). The role of male blossoms is to pollinate the female blossoms, because of this, the male
squash blossoms are mostly eaten. But because of their bright color and mild flavor, blossoms are eaten and
used as an ingredient in the kitchen. Either stuffed, fried, baked, or cooked. Yet due to its brightly colored
nature, it can more or so be utilized as a food colorant.

Food coloring or color additive is any dye or substance that produces color when it is added to food
or drink or beverages. Food coloring is used in both commercial food production and domestic cooking
purposes. (Nagababu & Dey, 2022). Before the creation of artificial food coloring, the use of natural sources
has always been the method of coloring food. Not only was the production of natural dyes provided
nutritional values, such as vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which help the functioning of the human
system avoiding diseases and helping if they already exist. (Imbarex, 2022). According to the National Food
Colours Association (NATCOL, 2023), Natural food colors originate from a wide range of sources like
vegetables, fruits, spices, algae, and/or other edible natural sources. They offer a wide spectrum of colors
and impart color when added to food or drink. The main objective of using colorants in food is to provide a
more attractive color for consumers. Originally, ingredients providing color were made from existing natural
sources or grown locally in home kitchens. Naturally occurring color additives from vegetable and mineral
sources were used to color foods, drugs, and cosmetics in ancient times The industrialization of food
production drove the need for food colors that were consistent in every production batch and stable
throughout the shelf life of the product. (NATCOL, 2023). In 1856, the first synthetic dye was discovered.
Discoveries of similar dyes soon followed, and they quickly became used to color foods, drugs, and
cosmetics, which in turn became the way in making more artificial dyes. Color additives are important
components of many products, making them attractive, appealing, and appetizing. But that brings up the
question of why use artificial dyes than using natural ones. (Barrows, Lipman, & Bailey, 2017)

Color is vital for the appearance of food. According to Rohrig (2015), One of the most important
reasons why we would use artificially made ones is the production cost. Artificial dyes can be mass-
produced at a fraction of the cost of gathering and processing the materials used to make any natural
colorings. They are cheaper to manufacture and are more cost-effective. The second reason is shelf life,
artificial dyes might be longer lasting than natural ones of the same color. Artificial food coloring also has a
more vibrant color thus having more consumers buying them. Compared to natural colors, synthetic food
colors have several economically important properties such as low cost, resistance to light and pH, and high
color stability, (Nagababu & Dey, 2021). Because of these reasons, artificially made ones are most widely
used than natural ones but these do not come without their sets of negative issues such as generating
allergies, risks of health issues, etc.

During the past 50 years, the amount of synthetic dye used in foods has increased by 500%.
Simultaneously, an alarming rise has occurred in behavioral problems in children, such as aggression,
attention deficit disorder (ADD), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), (Vojdani & Vojdani,
2015). Artificial coloring can disrupt the immune system and the consumption of synthetic food colors, and
their ability to bind with body proteins can have significant immunological consequences. Some commonly
used dyes are Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Red 40, which pose these risks. Many are concerned about its adverse
side effects. Agencies like Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Regulatory agencies, like the US Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), have concluded that the
dyes do not pose significant health risks yet not everyone agrees on this conclusion. (Bell, 2017).

Artificial food coloring is mostly derived from petroleum. Artificial food dyes are made from
petroleum and have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the enhancement of
the color of processed foods. They are widely used in the food and pharmaceutical industries to increase the
appeal and acceptability of their products. Synthetic food colorants can achieve hues not possible for natural
colorants and are cheaper, more easily available, and last longer. (Vojdani & Vojdani, 2015). Natural
coloring often comes from plants, animals, and other organic materials. Artificial colors, on the other hand,
are often petroleum-based and tend to be mixed in a lab. (Arora, 2017). This is why some people prefer to
use natural dyes than artificial ones. For this reason, some seek naturally produced coloring as an alternative
to artificially produced coloring. Natural dyes are a nontoxic alternative to conventionally used synthetic
dyes that are causing irreversible damage to the planet. By using natural dyes, we are directly cutting back
on the toxic chemicals being released that are associated with synthetic dyes. (Project, 2017)
Statement of the Problem

This study is aimed at developing a food colorant with the use of squash blossoms. The specific objectives of
this study are:

1. To determine the effectiveness of squash blossoms as a food colorant.

Significance of the Study

The purpose of this research is made to find and develop an alternative to factory-made coloring using
squash blossoms as the main component and to discover if squash blossoms can be utilized and produced
into food coloring.

For the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), it may provide them with an insight that squash
blossoms can be utilized as a food colorant thus instigating the idea of food coloring made from squash
blossoms.

For food coloring manufacturers, the result of this study could be used to provide them with a
concept of the addition of using squash blossoms for manufacturing food colorants. With this, it may expand
the number of organic materials that can be used and produced into food colorants.

For the local community, this research may give them insights into producing their own food dye
using environmental ingredients found within the vicinity of their homes. It may motivate them to make their
own food colorants than purchasing those sold in stores.

For future researchers, this study may serve as a basis and reference for any future studies
regarding this topic. This research would also prove useful to researchers who wish to pursue and conduct
studies related to this.

Scope and Delimitation

This study focuses on making an organic alternative to factory food coloring. The subject to be
discussed is whether squash blossoms, the edible flower of squash, or zucchini can be made into a coloring
agent for food products. This study will be beneficial in discovering more organic materials to utilize in food
colorants. This would benefit people with allergies to factory-made food coloring, this also benefits
companies who want to develop organic food coloring. This would also benefit researchers looking for a
similar thing using this study. The study will be held at Magpet, North Cotabato where the data will be
gathered, and the product will be made. The scope of this research will only cover the chosen participants of
the researcher and the responding place. The timeframe of this study will start a month after the 3rd quarter
and end at the end of the 4th quarter.

This study is only limited to the respondents within Magpet, North Cotabato. The respondents will be
chosen using the convenience sampling method. The individuals chosen will be those who happen to be
most accessible to the researcher. As such, the respondents will be chosen based on the researcher. This
work will use surveys to collect data from the respondents that are chosen. The instruments chosen would be
used more than other instruments to ensure that the data will be accurate. The entire 4th quarter of research
will be the time of the study to be tested, as such, the respondents chosen would be those near and available
due to the time restriction. Financial limitations would be an issue, so the sampling method is chosen.
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