** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** THIS PROPOSAL IS DESIGNED TO FIND EASY, EFFECTIVE AND ECONOMIC WAYS TO PRODUCE BETTER NATURAL OR NATURE DERIVED COLORANTS THAT THE FOOD INDUSTRY CAN USE AS ALTERNATIVES TO THE USE OF SYNTHETIC COLORANTS. THE FOOD INDUSTRY NEEDS EFFICIENT ALTERNATIVES TO SYNTHETIC FOOD COLORANTS TO ADDRESS CONSUMER DEMAND FOR SAFER, NATURALLY SOURCED INGREDIENTS AND CHANGING REGULATORY CONSTRAINTS. YET, MOST COLORANTS FROM NATURE HAVE LIMITED STABILITY, VIBRANCY, AND COMPATIBILITY WITH FOOD APPLICATIONS. OUR OVERALL OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP A NOVEL CLASS OF FOOD COLORANTS DERIVED FROM NATURE BY UPCYCLING WASTE MATERIALS FROM AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD PROCESSES. IN THE 3.68-BILLION-DOLLAR NATURAL COLORS MARKET, ANTHOCYANINS (ACNS)--A CLASS OF COLORED PLANT ANTIOXIDANTS ABUNDANT IN NATURE --EMERGE AS POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS WITH VIVID ORANGE, RED, PURPLE AND BLUE COLORS AND WITH HEALTH-ENHANCING PROPERTIES. HOWEVER, ANTHOCYANINS HAVE LIMITED STABILITY WHEN USED TO COLOR FOODS, RESTRICTING THEIR APPLICATIONS. PYRANOANTHOCYANINS (PACNS) ARE ACN-DERIVED PIGMENTS WITH VIBRANT COLORS, IMPROVED STABILITY TO HEAT, PH, AND STORAGE, AND HIGHER VERSATILITY MAKING THEM BETTER CANDIDATES FOR FOOD COLORING. PACNS ARE COMMONLY FORMED DURING WINE PROCESSING AND AGING, AND THEREFORE THEY HAVE BEEN CONSUMED FOR CENTURIES, AND HELP MAKE THE COLOR OF WINES VERY STABLE THROUGH TIME. PACN HAVE ALSO BEEN FOUND IN SOME PLANT MATERIALS, BUT THEY ARE PRESENT IN VERY LOW CONCENTRATIONS. PACN SHOW GREAT POTENTIAL AS FOOD COLORANTS, BUT THEIR SCARES AVAILABILITY MAKE THEM HARD TO COMMERCIALIZE. THEREFORE, OUR FIRST OBJECTIVE IS TO PRODUCE PACN FROM THE REACTION OF THE ABUNDANT ANTHOCYANINS WITH OTHER COMMONLY FOUND PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS. WE WANT TO PRODUCE PACN EFFICIENTLY, IDENTIFYING THE MORE FAVORABLE COMPOUNDS TO USE FOR THEIR PRODUCTION (ACN AND COFACTORS) AND PROVIDING THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT FOR THEIR FORMATION. SECOND, WE WILL CHARACTERIZE COLOR AND STABILITY OF DIFFERENT PACNS AND THEIR INTERACTION WITH FOOD MACROMOLECULES (LIPIDS, PROTEINS, AND CARBOHYDRATES). OUR THIRD OBJECTIVE WILL DEVELOP A METHOD TO SCALE-UP PACN-BASED COLORANT PRODUCTION FROM AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BYPRODUCTS. WE WILL USE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, SUCH AS ALKALINE HYDROLYSIS AND LACTIC ACID BACTERIA, TO RELEASE ACNS AND COFACTORS FROM ACN-RICH WASTE STREAMS AND FAVOR THEIR INTERACTION.OUR PROPOSAL WILL HELP IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF NOVEL FOOD INGREDIENTS. BY PRODUCING FOOD COLORANTS WITH IMPROVED STABILITY, WE WILL BE IMPROVING THE QUALITY, SHELF-LIFE, AND SENSORY ATTRIBUTES OF NOVEL FOOD INGREDIENTS. IMPROVING PACN PRODUCTION WILL ALSO ADD VALUE TO AGRO-INDUSTRIAL BYPRODUCTS, AND THEREFORE, DEVELOP INNOVATIVE MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES TO INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY AND FOOD QUALITY AND MINIMIZE WASTE.OVERALL, WE PROVIDE NOVEL, STABLE, AND NATURALLY DERIVED PACN-BASED FOOD COLORANTS, IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, ACCESSIBILITY, AND APPLICATIONS OF FOOD COLORANTS.