not encountered this problem before, but saying that major brands prob do use some colourings for that extra vibrancy. the recipe below is similar to the one i used to use in one of gary rhodes restaurants and works great. just make sure your tumeric is reasonably fresh and not stale, you can also use fresh tumeric root if you can find some!!!!
2 cauliflowers-in florets
1 kg onions-sliced
1 kg carrots-julienne
4 cucumbers-deseeded & sliced
2 bagsfrozen pearl onions thawed
2 litres white wine vinegar
1 litre malt vinegar
� litre water
750 g castor sugar
100 g mustard powder
50 g turmeric
6 tablespoons corn flour
200 g salt
2 red chillies-chopped
method salt the onions,cauliflower & carrots over night, in the morning wash well and dry
salt the cucumber for 10 mins then wash well and dry, mix all the vegetables together well.
boil the vinegars and water together with the chopped chilli then allow to cool for 30 minutes then strain into clean pan
mix the sugar,flour, turmeric, mustard powder & corn flour together and let down to a paste with a little of the vinegar mixture
bring the vinegar mixture back to the boil and whisk in the mustard mixture and cook until thick over gentle heat, when thick pour over the vegetables and allow to cool .