ABSTRACT
There is a general concern with respect to the safety of synthetic food col orants approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This has resulted in the avoidance of “artificial” colorants by a growing num ber of health-conscious consumers and suggests a potential for develop ing new sources of natural food colorants from microbial organisms such as Monascus. The genus Monascus produces several natural pigments, in cluding the primary colors red and yellow and the secondary color orange. These pigments are widely used in Asia as food colorants (Han, 1990; Anonymous, 1999a).
