Artificial Vanilla-Caramel Flavour

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Artificial vanilla-caramel flavour is a blended synthetic flavouring system typically composed of key aroma compounds such as vanillin or ethyl vanillin (vanilla note) and diacetyl, acetoin, or caramelised sugar-derived compounds (caramel note), used to impart a sweet, creamy, toffee-like taste and aroma to food products. It is used across confectionery, dairy, beverages, baked goods, and snack foods to replicate or enhance vanilla and caramel taste profiles at low cost.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

The primary components — vanillin, ethyl vanillin, diacetyl, and acetoin — are approved for food use by major regulatory bodies (FDA, EFSA, JECFA) and carry GRAS status when ingested at typical food-use levels. JECFA has set an ADI of 0–3 mg/kg bw/day for ethyl vanillin and 10 mg/kg bw/day for vanillin, both of which are not exceeded under normal dietary conditions. Diacetyl, a common caramel-note compound, is safe for ingestion but poses an inhalation risk (Bronchiolitis obliterans / 'popcorn lung') for occupational workers exposed to high airborne concentrations; this risk is irrelevant to consumers eating the food product.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
FSANZ (Food Standards Australia New Zealand) (Australia)	Approved	Permitted as artificial flavourings under FSANZ Food Standards Code Schedule 15; must be used at the lowest functional level necessary.source
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Vanillin (FL 05.018) and ethyl vanillin authorised without quantitative limits in most food categories under Regulation (EU) No 1334/2008; ADI 10 mg/kg bw for vanillin per JECFA. Diacetyl and acetoin also authorised as flavouring substances without limitations in the EU flavouring register.source
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Artificial flavouring substances including vanillin and ethyl vanillin are permitted under the FSSAI Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, subject to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) levels. Compounds are listed in the FSSAI Compendium of Flavouring Substances.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Vanillin, ethyl vanillin, diacetyl, and acetoin are listed as GRAS synthetic flavouring substances under 21 CFR 182.60; no specific numerical ADI imposed by FDA for food use. Diacetyl is safe for ingestion per FDA but subject to OSHA occupational exposure guidance for inhalation.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Infants — Infants have immature metabolic and hepatic detoxification capacity; artificial flavourings including vanillin-caramel blends are not evaluated or recommended for infant formula or foods designated for children under 12 months per EFSA and Codex Alimentarius guidance.

Children — Flavouring exposure per kg body weight is proportionally higher in young children, and EFSA chronic dietary exposure estimates for 3-year-olds are significantly elevated compared to adults; parents should minimise intake of heavily flavoured processed foods in young children.

Pregnancy — Vanillin has mild estrogenic activity in some in vitro studies, and the safety of diacetyl-containing artificial flavourings during pregnancy has not been specifically assessed; precautionary limitation of highly processed artificially flavoured foods is prudent during pregnancy.

Other — Occupational workers (e.g. food manufacturing, flavour blending) exposed to aerosolised diacetyl or 2,3-pentanedione at high concentrations face risk of Bronchiolitis obliterans ('popcorn lung'); this is an inhalation risk, not a dietary risk, per FDA and published toxicological evidence.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1EFSA. Safety of 27 flavouring compounds providing a milky-vanilla flavour and belonging to different chemical groups for use as feed additives in all animal species (FEFANA asbl), 2023. efsa.europa.eu
2PubMed. Policy, toxicology and physicochemical considerations on the inhalation of high concentrations of food flavour, 2020. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3FDA. Questions & Answers About 4-MEI (relevant to caramel-type flavour components), 2020. fda.gov
4EFSA. Vanillin (FL 05.018) — EU Register of Flavouring Substances under Regulation (EU) No 1334/2008, 2008. webgate.ec.europa.eu
5WHO. Ethyl vanillin — JECFA Food Additives & Contaminants Database, 2001. apps.who.int

Independently researched5 citations