The product we are going to introduce today is plant carbon black. In fact, plant carbon black is not a health product, nor a medicine, but just a food additive colorant. Unlike carbon black, plant carbon black is used in food and can be eaten. Here, Xian Pincredit Bio-tech will give you a detailed introduction to what plant carbon black is and what is the role of plant carbon black? Is plant carbon black edible?
What Is Vegetable Carbon Black?
Plant carbon black is an insoluble colorant, so it is usually used in the form of a suspension. Plant carbon black is made from plant trunks and shells and is carbonized. It is mainly used in candies and is usually used as a masking agent.
Other names for plant carbon black include plant black, plant charcoal, carbon black, edible carbon black, and natural melanin
Properties of plant carbon black: black powdery particles, odorless, tasteless, insoluble in water and organic solvents.
What Is the Role of Plant Carbon Black?
The main function of plant carbon black is to be used as melanin, food processing aid, and adsorbent, which shows that plant carbon black is edible. In other words, the function of plant carbon black is to be used as a food additive colorant.
Application Scope of Plant Carbon Black:
Vegetable carbon black can be used in candies, biscuits, cakes, baked goods, grains and cereal products, dairy products, sugar and candied foods, rice, decorative and coated ice cream, and flour products.
How to Use Vegetable Carbon Black:
Here is a method of using plant carbon black for your reference: when producing licorice candy, use 30% plant melanin at a dosage of 4% to make black candy; when making chocolate biscuits, use this product and chili red to adjust the color, and the amount of plant carbon black added is 4% of the flour.
Dosage of Vegetable Carbon Black in Food Products:
According to GB 2760-2014 National Food Safety Standard Food Additive Usage Standard, the food additive vegetable carbon black can be used in six types of food: frozen drinks (except edible ice), cakes, biscuits, candies and tapioca pearls. Among them, the maximum usage of frozen drinks (except edible ice), cakes, biscuits and candies is 5.0g/kg; the maximum usage of tapioca pearls is 1.5g/kg.
Plant Carbon Black Detection Method:
Real plant carbon black is non-toxic and edible, but people are afraid of buying fake plant carbon black, so a good method is needed to identify plant carbon black. The specific method is: take 3g of this product, put it in a stoppered conical bottle, add 10 mL of 5% dilute hydrochloric acid, boil for 30s, cool at room temperature, add 100 mL of iodine solution, shake rapidly for 30s, filter with dense filter paper, discard the initial filtrate, and compare the subsequent filtrate 50 mL with the control solution (10 mL of iodine solution is diluted to 50 mL with water, without activated carbon treatment). The color should not be darker than the control solution.