Colour value, assay and carrier form decide whether two colour quotes compare. A buyer’s guide to reading a natural food color certificate line by line.
Bulk and tapped density are the two lines buyers skip on a rhodiola COA. Batch 260828 gives a 1.35 Hausner ratio; here is what that changes on your line.
Yeast protein is not on any mandatory allergen list, but that is where the label work starts, not where it ends. The two phrasings that survive review, the shared-equipment question no list answers, and the four documents to request at order stage.
Soy and pea carry the volume; yeast protein carries the label. Allergen declarations, the sulphur amino acid row, flavour behaviour, GMO sourcing and where each protein actually wins — with the questions to ask before committing.
Whey is the benchmark; yeast protein is the credible non-dairy challenger. An amino acid comparison, the allergen and label contrast, functional behavior by matrix, price stability, and a five-document evaluation checklist before substituting.
There is no single answer to whether yeast protein is legal in a given market, because status turns on the species, the process and the form placed on the market. Where the four main export markets stand, and what to prepare.
A specification is a promise and a certificate is evidence. What a yeast protein COA must contain, which column carries the information you need, and the six patterns that mark a template rather than a batch record.
An 80% yeast protein specification hides more than it shows. A line-by-line reading of protein basis, moisture, ash, nucleic acid, microbiology and heavy metals — and why two specifications can differ ten-fold on cadmium.
Blue is the hardest colour to source naturally — and the three commercial options are not interchangeable. We compare gardenia blue, spirulina extract and butterfly pea on hue, stability and US labelling, so buyers can match the right blue to the right application.
On 29 August 2025 the FDA order adding gardenia (genipin) blue to the colour additives exempt from certification took effect. Here is what the listing covers, which food categories are permitted, and what US buyers should confirm before switching to gardenia blue.