Advances in natural colorants for functional confectionery; technological, sensory, and stability perspectives in chewing gum, hard candy, and toffee.

Navisa Etemadi, Aida Rezazadeh, Ali Khoshkalampour, Mohammad-Reza Rashidi, Meysam Marhamati, Zahra Ghasempour

Abstract readReview

In one paragraph

Review in Food chemistry: X, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it

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0citing papers in PubMed

–field-weighted citation impact

1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

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PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Navisa EtemadiStudent Research Committee, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Aida RezazadehStudent Research Committee, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Ali KhoshkalampourNutrition Research Center, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Mohammad-Reza RashidiDepartment of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Meysam MarhamatiStudent Research Committee, Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Zahra GhasempourDepartment of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Nutrition Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The increasing consumer demand for clean label and health-focused products has hastened the transfer from synthetic colorants to natural ones, especially in that niche of functional confectionery. This review examines the application of natural colorants in chewing gum, toffee, and hard candy-matrices with varying challenges due to their processing and properties. The inherent sensitivity of these pigments to environmental and processing conditions often leads to color fading and degradation. Advanced encapsulation techniques, such as spray-drying, freeze-drying, and ionic gelation, can improve pigment stability and control release kinetics, and mask undesirable flavors. Furthermore, natural colorants may offer added functional benefits like antioxidant and antimicrobial activity. By addressing the impact of processing on final product quality, physical, sensory, and functional characteristics, this review underscores the role of natural colorants in developing sustainable, health-promoting confectionery and identifies future research directions for their broader industrial use.

Indexed as

CharacterizationConfectionery productsFunctional foodsPigments

Identifiers

PMID42222006

DOI10.1016/j.fochx.2025.103465

PMCPMC13216726

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.