When was the last time you tried TTB’s Formulas Online (FONL) system? It continues to change every few months, since its inception a few years ago. When I went to use it earlier this week I was struck by how much information TTB is loading into the system.
As an example, let’s take a look at what FONL has to say about colors (food and beverage colors such as FD& Red #40). First you log in and get your home screen (as above).
Then you click along and go to enter some ingredients. Near this area, there is a handy definition of what is a “color” (in this context). It’s not always an easy question. Ok bigshot, is saffron a color? What about grape juice? The help points out that the predominant reason for the addition is the key, when the ingredient has more than one function (such as color and flavor).
Once we verify we are in fact talking about a color, you would proceed as here.
Once you click “Color,” it very helpfully pulls up a list of the most common and allowable colors, along with alternative names such as Red 40/E 129. This list goes on to cover fruit juice, grape skin extract/enocianina/E 163, mica, oak, paprika, riboflavin, saffron, titanium dioxide, tomato, turmeric, and vegetable juice.
Then there is more help, off to the right, with more links.
There is a lot of information and it can be a bit daunting at first, but once you get used to it, the extra information is quite helpful. Last but not least, many thanks and good wishes for Roberta Sanders, who retires from TTB (before Pres. Trump takes over) — after thousands of people helped, and tens of thousands of formulas approved.
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