Natural Colour Extraction Plants

Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot

Mechotech designs and manufactures turnkey natural colour extraction plants for red vegetable and fruit colour. In the Mechotech catalogue, Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot is listed in the Red Colour group alongside hibiscus, avocado, madder, sumac, Brazil wood, St. John’s wort and sycamore entries. Mechotech’s article on red colour extraction describes three pigment families behind natural reds: anthocyanins (from berries, red cabbage and purple carrot), betalains (from beetroot and prickly pear) and carotenoids, each needing its own solvent, pH and temperature regime. The article does not describe radish or strawberry by name, so their pigment and part are confirmed with the client; red cabbage and beetroot, and berries in general, are covered. The entry lists four raw materials, so the feed and the target shade are confirmed before the plant is configured.

Mechotech’s red vegetables plant is configured around the raw material and the target colour extract. It is built in SS 316L with integrated solvent recovery, automation and full documentation, and is delivered as a commissioned turnkey system. The article describes acidified water or ethanol extraction at about 40 to 60 degrees Celsius for anthocyanin sources, gentle aqueous extraction at 20 to 50 degrees Celsius for betalain sources such as beetroot, vacuum concentration, and spray drying with a carrier, standardised on pigment content. The raw material, solvent and conditions for a project are established during process development and pilot validation.

Technical Specifications

Product	Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot Natural Colour Extraction Plant
Raw Material	Radish, red cabbage, strawberry and beetroot (catalogue name: Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot)
Botanical Name	Not stated in the product tree; the article names the vegetables and fruits by common name only
Plant Part / Feed Form	Not stated for radish or strawberry in any source; red cabbage and beetroot as the article describes them (beetroot as the source of betanin); the exact feed and form are confirmed with the client
Colour Group	Red Colour (see the Red Colour page)
Colour-forming Components	Anthocyanins (red cabbage and berries) and betalains (beetroot, betanin) per Mechotech’s article; the pigment of radish and strawberry is not stated and is confirmed with the client
Process Category	Natural Colour Extraction Plants
Extract Type	Natural colour extract (liquid concentrate or dried powder, per specification)
Extraction Method	Acidified water or ethanol extraction for anthocyanins and gentle aqueous extraction for betalains, in closed jacketed SS 316L vessels (per the article); route confirmed during process development
Product-contact Material	SS 316L
Filtration System	Plate-and-frame filter press with cartridge polish filters
Concentration System	Falling-film / vacuum evaporator with solvent recovery where a solvent is used
Drying System	Spray or vacuum dryer, where a powder is required
Automation	PLC-based
Plant Capacity	Configured to requirement
Utility Requirements	Steam, chilled/cooling water, compressed air and power (project-specific)
Compliance	GMP hygienic design; full documentation for qualification
Final Product Form	Natural colour extract (red colour group)

Plant Capacities

Plant Scale	Raw Material Throughput	Typical Use
Pilot	Configured to your feedstock and trial plan	Product development, parameter validation
Semi-Commercial	Configured between pilot and commercial scale	Scale-up trials, contract manufacturing
Commercial	Configured to raw-material supply and confirmed buyer volume	Commercial production

Capacity is configured to raw-material supply, confirmed buyer volume and investment timeline; a pilot plant is recommended to validate parameters before scaling.

Manufacturing Process

Raw Material Preparation

The chosen raw material is authenticated, cleaned, tested for moisture and chopped, pulped or macerated so the solvent can reach the tissue; the article stresses classifying the raw material by its pigment class first, because the wrong solvent leaves most of the pigment in the marc.

Extraction

For anthocyanin sources the article describes water or ethanol acidified with citric acid, at about 40 to 60 degrees Celsius to protect the heat-sensitive pigment; for beetroot it describes gentle aqueous extraction at 20 to 50 degrees Celsius to preserve heat-labile betanin. The route and conditions for the chosen material are set during process development.

Filtration

The extract is clarified through a plate-and-frame filter press and cartridge polish filters.

Concentration & Solvent Recovery

The article describes vacuum concentration, below 60 degrees Celsius for the betalain route, in a falling-film / vacuum evaporator, with solvent recovered through the condenser return system where ethanol is used.

Standardisation

The article says a natural red is sold by colour strength: anthocyanin colours are standardised on pigment content measured by the pH-differential spectrophotometric method at around 520 nanometres (E163), and betalain products on betanin content (E162); blending of sources to a target hue is routine.

Drying & Quality Control

The standardised extract is supplied as a liquid or spray-dried, with maltodextrin or gum arabic where encapsulation is wanted, then released after assay, residual-solvent (where ethanol is used), heavy-metal, microbial and moisture testing.

Major Plant Equipment

Raw material cleaning, chopping and pulping system
Closed jacketed SS 316L extraction vessels
Acid dosing and pH-control system
Solvent storage tanks (ethanol, where used)
Plate-and-frame filter press
Cartridge polish filtration
Falling-film / vacuum evaporator
Solvent recovery unit and condensers
Standardisation / blending vessel
Spray dryer
CIP system
Automation and instrumentation

Plant Output

Natural colour extract (red colour group), as a liquid concentrate or dried powder per specification

Applications

Anthocyanin colour for acidic products such as fruit drinks, carbonated beverages, jellies, confectionery and dairy desserts (per the article)
Beetroot red for ice cream, yoghurt, meat substitutes and low-acid bakery fillings, usable from pH 3 to 7 (per the article)
Natural tints in cosmetics and personal care (per the article)
Clean-label replacement of synthetic reds (per the article)

Key Features

SS 316L Construction
Electropolished SS 316L product-contact surfaces with CIP operation between batches.
Pigment-Class Routes
The article describes separate routes for anthocyanins and betalains, so the plant is configured to the pigment of the chosen raw material rather than to one fixed solvent.
Gentle Temperatures
The article gives low extraction temperatures and vacuum concentration below 60 degrees Celsius for the heat-labile betalains.
Standardised on Colour Strength
Colour strength is standardised on pigment content, with blending to a target hue, as the article describes.
Scalable Batch Capacity
Plants are configured to requirement from pilot scale upward, with modular expansion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Mechotech supply the complete machinery for Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot?

Yes. Mechotech supplies the complete turnkey plant for Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot — engineered, fabricated at our Hyderabad facility, installed and commissioned as a single integrated system. Final process parameters are established during process development and pilot validation.

What specification can the Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot plant achieve?

The plant is configured to the client’s target specification for Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot; the specification achieved is established during process development and pilot validation, and batch-release testing with certificate-of-analysis documentation is defined with the client.

What production capacities are available for the Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot plant?

Capacity for the Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot plant is configured to raw-material supply, confirmed buyer volume and investment timeline, starting at pilot scale; a pilot plant is recommended to validate parameters before scaling.

Which industries use the Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot plant?

The end-use areas listed for Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot are given under Applications. The end use, the colour shade and the target specification are confirmed with the client before the plant is configured.

Which raw materials and which parts are covered?

The catalogue entry combines four raw materials: radish, red cabbage, strawberry and beetroot. Mechotech’s article describes red cabbage and beetroot by name and berries in general; it does not describe radish or strawberry, and gives no plant part for any of them beyond the beetroot as the source of betanin. The raw material and its form are confirmed with the client.

What gives natural red its colour?

According to the article, three unrelated pigment families: anthocyanins (water-soluble flavonoid glycosides, bright red below about pH 3, turning violet and then blue as pH rises), betalains (such as betanin from beetroot, holding colour from pH 3 to 7 but heat-labile above about 70 degrees Celsius) and carotenoids. Read more in Advanced Red Colour Extraction Techniques.

Why does the solvent depend on the pigment?

The article says an anthocyanin source needs acidified water or ethanol, a betalain source needs gentle low-temperature aqueous extraction and a carotenoid source needs a non-polar solvent or supercritical CO2, and that choosing the wrong solvent is the most common failure in natural red production.

Why does a natural red sometimes turn blue or purple in food?

The article explains that anthocyanin reds turn violet and then blue as pH rises above about 3, which is why they suit acidic products, while beetroot red holds its colour from pH 3 to 7 and suits low-acid foods. The right red for a product is confirmed in application trials.

How is the colour strength of a natural red measured?

The article says anthocyanin liquids and powders are standardised on pigment content measured by the pH-differential spectrophotometric method at around 520 nanometres, betalain products on betanin content and carotenoid oleoresins on lycopene or total carotenoid percentage.

How does this page differ from the other beetroot, radish and strawberry pages?

Mechotech lists separate extraction products with other targets: Beetroot Extract (nitrate content), Beetroot Pulp Soluble Fibre Extract, Radish Root Soluble Fibre Extract and Strawberry Pomace Ellagic Acid Extract. Red cabbage also appears on the purple vegetables page. Confirm which raw material and target are wanted.

Where does this page sit in the Red Colour range?

Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot is part of the Red Colour group (hub page: Red Colour). The product tree lists these neighbouring pages in the group: Flowers - Hibiscus; Fruit - Avacado; Roots - Maddar; Berries - Sumac; Wood - Brazil Wood; Plant - St.John's Wort; Bark - Sycamore. The overall catalogue hub is Natural Colour Extraction Plants.

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Vegetables - Raddish / Red Cabbage / Strawberry / Beetroot