Red cabbage could be the key to developing a natural cyan blue food coloring Finding a natural cyan blue dye that is equivalent to FD&C Blue No. 1 has been a challenge for the entire industry and the subject of research programs around the world. Now, an international team of researchers has discovered a promising cyan blue dye that is obtained naturally from the pigments of red cabbage that, if proven to be safe for food use, will be the best natural alternative to the blue coloring of food. The study was carried out with some of the red cabbage's water-soluble pigments, anthocyanins, which are mainly red and purple. In this type of cabbage, natural blue is only found in small amounts and it is too violet to replace the artificial coloring. For a decade, a team led by scientists from the Mars Advanced Research Institute and Mars Wrigley Science and Technology has worked in collaboration with the UC Davis Innovation Institute for Food and Health, Ohio State University, Nagoya University (Japan ), the University of Avignon (France), the SISSA University (Italy), and chemists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) to isolate a blue anthocyanin from red cabbage.