The FDA is phasing out synthetic dyes. Food companies have committed to pulling Red 40, Red 3, and others from shelves. The $3 billion natural color market is about to absorb a billion more in conversions. Synbio has a window.
#SynBioBeta2026 is May 4-7th in San Jose, California, you can learn more about the conference and get your tickets here:
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At
@SynBioBeta 2026, a Planetary Health track session examines how to capture this moment: Birgit Cameron (CEO & Co-founder, Prism Bio), Ricky Cassini (CEO, Michroma), Gregory Hocking (VP Global R&D New Innovation Territories, Mars Snacking), and Erum Azeez Khan (Partner, Messaginglab).
Birgit Cameron co-founded Prism Bio to produce a full spectrum of natural colorants from photosynthetic bacteria via fermentation, with photo- and thermo-stability across a broad pH range and a proprietary ColorSwitch technology that can change color using laser light.
Ricky Cassini co-founded Michroma in 2019 to build fungal biofactories for natural food colors using CRISPR-enhanced filamentous fungi. His flagship Red is pH and heat stable enough to survive pasteurization, cooking, and extrusion, and earlier this year Michroma won the Global Food Tech Award Americas at Future Food-Tech and the Kraft Heinz Innovation award. He's a Forbes 30 Under 30 and MIT Innovator Under 35.
Gregory Hocking brings the view from inside one of the world's largest food companies: what Mars Snacking actually needs from a bio-based color supplier before it can go on a label that reaches billions of consumers.
The session runs May 7 from 3:30-4:15 PM in the Planetary Health track.