Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring. It is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates, in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization. It is more fully oxidized than caramel candy, and has an odor of burnt sugar and a somewhat bitter taste. Its color ranges from pale yellow to amber to dark brown.
Caramel color is one of the oldest and most widely used food colorings, and is found in many commercially produced foods and beverages, including batters, beer, brown bread, buns, chocolate, cookies, cough drops, spirits and liquor such as brandy, rum, and whisky, chocolate-flavored confectionery and coatings, custards, decorations, fillings and toppings, potato chips, dessert mixes, doughnuts, fish and shellfish spreads, frozen desserts, fruit preserves, glucose tablets, gravy, ice cream, pickles,sauces and dressings, soft drinks (especially colas), sweets, vinegar, and more. Caramel color is widely approved for use in food globally but application and use level restrictions vary by country.
Caramel color is manufactured by heating carbohydrates, either alone or in the presence of acids, alkalis, and/or salts. Caramel color is produced from commercially available nutritive sweeteners consisting of fructose, dextrose (glucose), invert sugar, sucrose, malt syrup, molasses, starch hydrolysates and fractions thereof. The acids that may be used are sulfuric, sulfurous, phosphoric, acetic, and citric acids; the alkalis are ammonium, sodium, potassium, and calcium hydroxides; and the salts are ammonium, sodium, and potassium carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate (including mono- and dibasic), sulfate, and bisulfite. Antifoaming agents, such as polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, may be used as processing aids during manufacture. Its color ranges from pale-yellow to amber to dark-brown.
| Class |
INS No. |
E Number |
Description |
Restrictions on preparation |
Used in |
| I |
150a |
E150a |
Plain caramel, caustic caramel, spirit caramel |
No ammonium or sulfite compounds can be used |
Whiskey and other high proof alcohols |
| II |
150b |
E150b |
Caustic sulfite caramel |
In the presence of sulfite compounds but no ammonium compounds can be used |
Cognac, sherry and some vinegars |
| III |
150c |
E150c |
Ammonia caramel, baker's caramel, confectioner's caramel, beer caramel |
In the presence of ammonium compounds but no sulfite compounds can be used |
Beer, sauces, and confectionery |
| IV |
150d |
E150d |
Sulfite ammonia caramel, acid-proof caramel, soft-drink caramel |
In the presence of both sulfite and ammonium compounds |
Acidic environments such as soft drinks |
- Color Intensity=A∗<!-- ∗ -->100TS{\displaystyle {\text{Color Intensity}}={\frac {A*100}{TS}}}
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