Pigmentation in animal nutrition: a real challenge, stability of complex compounds!

The colour of certain animal products such as eggs, fish and shrimp is a quality cue that greatly influences consumer decision. Expectations vary depending on the market and, more importantly, they evolve over time. Until recently, broiler pigmentation was recognised mainly in Southern France as a symbol of quality. This is due to the higher content of corn historically present in the birds’ feed, which naturally pigments the animal’s flesh. Though previous consumer demands for colour represented only one third of the volume of broilers produced in France, we estimate this market will reach two thirds of the production in the coming years. As a result, downstream sectors in the value chain will experience greater demands in terms of intensity and regularity of colour.

Controlling the pigmentation process, predicting the outcome and conducting measurements will therefore be the most important performance components in terms of quality and cost-effectiveness.

Although there are more than 600 known carotenoids, the list of those authorised for use as additives in animal feed is highly restricted and very few raw materials contain them. We can break down the group of pigments used as additives into two categories: 1. synthetic, produced from chemical syntheses; 2. natural, extracted from organic substrates (marigolds or paprika). Similar to many additives, they are only authorised for certain species and must comply with maximum incorporation rates in feed, and in some cases, with MRLs (Maximum Residue Limits) in animal products