Book excerpt: Handbook on Natural Pigments in Food and Beverages: Industrial Applications for Improving Color, Second Edition focuses on a color solution for a specific commodity, providing food scientists with a one-stop, comprehensive reference on how to improve the color of a particular food product. The book includes two new chapters that highlight the physical and biological fundamentals of color, as well as the specific use of curcumin and carthamin. Sections focus on specific industrial applications of natural colorants, with chapters covering the use of natural colorants in a variety of products. Other sections highlight technical formulation and potential health benefits of specific colorants. Various pigments which can be used to effectively color food and beverage commodities are presented with information on safety and testing throughout. - Provides a fully revised and updated resource on current regulatory standards and legislation - Includes new chapters on both emerging ingredients and the latest technologies - Focuses on the use of natural food colorants by specific product category per chapter rather than one pigment class per chapter - Contains a current and comprehensive overview of product-specific coloration approaches