Caramel color

Caramel color is found in many commercially made foods and beverages, including batters, beer, brown bread, buns, chocolate,[2] cookies, cough drops, spirits and liquor such as brandy, rum, and whisky,[3] chocolate-flavored confectionery and coatings, custards, decorations, fillings and toppings, potato chips,[4] dessert mixes, doughnuts, fish and shellfish spreads, frozen desserts, fruit preserves, glucose tablets, gravy, ice cream, pickles,[5] 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 produced from commercially available nutritive sweeteners consisting of fructose, dextrose (glucose), invert sugar, sucrose, malt syrup, molasses, starch hydrolysates, and fractions thereof.

Caramel color molecules carry either positive or a negative charges depending upon the reactants used in their manufacture.

Problems such as precipitation, flocculation, or migration can be eliminated with the use of a properly charged caramel color for the intended application.

Each class consists of a variety of caramels with their own unique properties that make it suitable for use in specific foods and/or beverages.

[23] The exposure to 4-MeI at levels present in Class III and IV caramel colors are not expected to be of concern for two reasons.

Caramel color produced from corn or cane-based materials would be unlikely to contain gluten due to the lack of gliadin in the carbohydrates.

[24] North American and European manufacturers mostly use glucose derived from corn or wheat to produce caramel color, which is highly processed and is generally considered gluten-free.