Caramel(E150)
Level 3 — ContestedIn Winter's Dictionary3 sources
Caramel is a colorant — Most widely used food coloring; burnt sugar with bitter taste
Also: Caramel Color
What it does
Most widely used food coloring; burnt sugar with bitter taste
Where you'll see it
Beer, brown bread, chocolate, biscuits, brandy, soft drinks, ice cream, baked goods, confections; strawberry, butter, butterscotch, brandy, maple, walnut, root beer, spice, ginger, vanilla, cream soda beverages
What the research says
Ammonia-process caramel associated with blood toxicity in rats; inhibited B6 metabolism in rabbits. Sulfite ammonia caramels tested on humans produced soft to liquid stools and increased bowel movements. FDA gave priority for mutagenic, teratogenic, subacute, reproductive effect testing.
[ultra-processed-people] Marker of UPF construction — caramelised sugar listed among the additive 'cocktail' in Hovis bread. Not flagged with a specific Chassaing-type mechanism, but part of the colour/flavour suite that converts industrial pastes into recognisable 'food.'
[salt-sugar-fat] The Maillard browning reaction (between sugars including fructose and amino acids) gives processed foods the inviting caramel hue of home-baked goods — bakers at the 2010 AHA summit cited Maillard as a non-negotiable reason sugar cannot be reduced.
Regulatory status
- US FDA: GRAS
- EU: approved
- Notes: ASP; JECFA temporarily removed ADI for ammonia-made caramel due to blood toxicity in rats
Sources
- Salt Sugar Fat (Moss) — Chapter 1 (Sugar): Maillard is responsible for much of the pleasing caramel coloring in processed food
- Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken) — Chapter 11: UPF is pre-chewed: caramelised sugar, barley fibre, flour treatment agent: ascorbic acid
- A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): Caramel color prepared by ammonia process has been associated with blood toxicity in rats