Betanin
A red food dye made from beets and other plants
No single value: Betanin is a material, and its colour varies. The background shows its family, red.
Betanin is a red pigment mainly obtained from beetroot, used as a natural food colouring. Its colour varies with acidity, appearing bright bluish-red at slightly acidic pH and shifting to blue-violet as pH rises. Betanin is valued for its use in foods like ice cream, drinks, and confectionery.
- Betanin is the main red pigment in beetroot.
- It is used as a natural food colouring (E162).
- Its colour changes with acidity, from bluish-red to blue-violet.
- Betanin breaks down with heat, light, and oxygen.
- It is also found in Opuntia cactus and Swiss chard.
What colour is Betanin?
Betanin is a natural red dye, most often extracted from beetroot. It belongs to the betalain group of pigments. The colour it gives depends on the acidity of its surroundings: it is bright bluish-red in mildly acidic conditions and turns blue-violet as the environment becomes more alkaline. Betanin is distinct from other red food dyes because it is plant-based and sensitive to heat, light, and oxygen.
Where does Betanin come from?
The name betanin comes from its main source, the beetroot. It is also found in other plants such as the Opuntia cactus, Swiss chard, and some amaranth leaves. Betanin has been used as a food colouring in Europe for a long time, especially before synthetic dyes became common.
How is Betanin made?
Betanin is usually made by extracting juice from beetroots and concentrating the pigment. The extracted dye can also come from other plants like Opuntia cactus and Swiss chard. The pigment is often used in its pure form or as part of beet juice extract. Its stability is best in dry or frozen products, as it breaks down with heat, light, and oxygen.
Where Betanin is used
Betanin is mainly used to colour foods such as ice cream, powdered drinks, confectionery, soups, and processed tomato or bacon products. It is added to hot-processed candies at the final stage to preserve its colour. Because it is sensitive to heat and light, it is most often used in foods that are frozen, dry, or have a short shelf life.
Red around the world
What the red family means from country to country.
The flag uses the four Pan-Arab colours: a red bar at the hoist with green, white and black bands. It was designed by a young Emirati, Abdullah Al Maainah, in 1971.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of the United Arab EmiratesThe flag is a black double-headed eagle on red, the banner of the fifteenth-century hero Skanderbeg. Fans chant Kuq e Zi, red and black.
Politics and protestPrideSource: Flag of AlbaniaArmenian scribes painted manuscripts with vordan karmir, a crimson dye made from an insect that lives on the roots of grasses in the Ararat plain.
Sacred and holySource: Armenian cochinealUnder Juan Manuel de Rosas in the 1830s and 1840s, everyone had to wear a scarlet ribbon to show loyalty to his Federalist party. His enemies, the Unitarians, were tied to sky blue.
Politics and protestFearSource: Juan Manuel de RosasThe flag is red, white and red. Legend says Duke Leopold V's white tunic was soaked in blood at the siege of Acre, all but the band under his belt.
Politics and protestCourageSource: Flag of AustriaRed ochre is used in Aboriginal rock art and ceremony, and is traded over long distances. In the Aboriginal flag the red half stands for the earth and for that ochre.
Sacred and holyNature and renewalAweSource: Australian Aboriginal flagShades and relatives of Betanin
Betanin is one of several betalain pigments, along with isobetanin and other betacyanins. Its colour changes with pH, from bluish-red in acidic conditions to blue-violet in alkaline ones, and it turns yellow-brown when it breaks down. It is sometimes confused with synthetic red dyes, but is plant-derived.
Questions people ask about Betanin
What colour is betanin?
Betanin is a red pigment that appears bright bluish-red in mildly acidic conditions and shifts to blue-violet as the pH increases. It can turn yellow-brown when it breaks down in alkaline conditions.
Where does the name betanin come from?
The name betanin comes from its main source, the beetroot. It is also called beetroot red.
What is betanin used for?
Betanin is mainly used as a natural food colouring in products like ice cream, powdered drinks, confectionery, soups, and processed foods such as tomato and bacon products.
How is betanin made?
Betanin is usually extracted from beetroot juice, but can also be obtained from other plants like Opuntia cactus and Swiss chard. The pigment is concentrated and used to colour foods.
Is betanin stable in all foods?
Betanin is sensitive to heat, light, and oxygen, so it is most stable in frozen, dry, or high-sugar foods. It can break down in products with high water content or when exposed to metal ions.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Betanin", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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