Plain Caramel (Caramel Colour Class I)

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Plain Caramel (E150a) is a brown food colouring produced by the controlled heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars) without any ammonia or sulphite reactants, making it the simplest of the four caramel colour classes. It is widely used to impart yellow-to-brown hues in foods such as non-alcoholic flavoured drinks, confectionery, soups, seasonings, beer, and baked goods.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

EFSA's 2011 re-evaluation concluded that caramel colours, including E150a, are neither genotoxic nor carcinogenic and show no evidence of adverse effects on human reproduction or development. A group ADI of 300 mg/kg bw/day was established for all four caramel colours combined; high consumers, especially children, could potentially exceed this ADI if E150a is used at maximum industry levels. By-products formed during manufacture, including 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furfural (5-HMF) and furan, were flagged as potentially concerning, and EFSA recommended their levels be kept as low as technologically possible.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Approved under Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 on food additives. Group ADI of 300 mg/kg bw/day covers all four caramel colour classes (E150a–d) combined. Re-evaluated under Commission Regulation (EU) No 257/2010. EFSA's 2012 refined exposure assessment concluded consumer exposure to E150a is generally below the ADI in most population groups.source
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Permitted as a natural colour (Caramel I / Colour 150a) under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. Must be declared on labels as 'Colour (Caramel I)' or 'Colour (150a)' per FSSAI labelling requirements.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Caramel is listed as a colour additive exempt from batch certification under 21 CFR Part 73.85, and also listed as Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) under 21 CFR 182.1235. No specific numerical ADI established by FDA; no maximum use level set for most food categories.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Children — EFSA's 2011 opinion noted that children who are high consumers of foods containing E150a could exceed the group ADI of 300 mg/kg bw/day if the colour is used at maximum reported industry levels.

Ibs — As a complex mixture of carbohydrate-derived compounds, high-dose intake of caramel colours may contribute to gastrointestinal discomfort in individuals with irritable bowel syndrome, consistent with general guidance to limit highly processed food additives.

Diabetes — Plain Caramel is produced from carbohydrates (sugars) and its presence as a colouring agent may indicate a product with elevated sugar content; individuals with diabetes should monitor overall dietary exposure to such processed food products.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1WHO. JECFA Monograph: Caramel Colours (Class I–IV). fao.org
2PubMed. Food Colour Additives: A Synoptical Overview on Their Chemical Properties, Applications in Food Products, and Health Side Effects, 2022. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3PubMed. Caramel color safety – An update, 2017. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
4EFSA. Refined exposure assessment for caramel colours (E 150a, c, d), 2012. efsa.europa.eu
5EFSA. Scientific Opinion on the re-evaluation of caramel colours (E 150 a, b, c, d) as food additives, 2011. efsa.europa.eu

Independently researched5 citations