Blue raspberry is a manufactured flavoring and food coloring for candy, snack foods, syrups, and soft drinks.[1][2][3] The flavor does not derive from any species of raspberry, but rather was developed using esters that are part of the flavor profile of pineapple, banana and cherry.[2] Sugar is commonly added to create taste appeal for the blue raspberry flavor.[2]
Food products labeled as blue raspberry flavor are commonly dyed with a bright blue synthetic food coloring, such as brilliant blue FCF (also called FD&C Blue No. 1) or European food coloring number E133.[4]
The blue color was used to differentiate raspberry-flavored foods from cherry-, watermelon-, and strawberry-flavored foods, each of which is typically red.[1][2] The use of blue dye also partially is due to the FDA's 1976 banning of amaranth-based Red Dye No. 2, which had previously been heavily used in raspberry-flavored products.[2][3]
Composition
"Blue raspberry" flavors used in confectionery and frozen beverages are typically formulated from aroma chemicals blended to suggest fresh raspberry, and then colored with FD&C Blue No. 1.[1][3]
History
Blue raspberry flavoring debuted commercially in the United States in 1958 with Gold Medal's snow cone syrup.[3] Its wider adoption followed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) 1969 approval of FD&C Blue No. 1. This regulatory change encouraged other companies, including The Icee Company and Otter Pops, to introduce blue raspberry products in the early 1970s.[2][3]
See also
Rubus leucodermis - a fruit-bearing plant that is sometimes called the "blue raspberry"
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