E150a is a chemical compound, an ingredient included in the list of European food additives as a colouring agent.

Breakdown of the name and function of the components

• E150a - The "E" designation indicates a food additive approved for use in the European Union. The "150a" specifies the type of caramel used.
• Caramel - It's the result of caramelization, a heat transformation process of sugars.

Description and function of the raw materials used in production

• Sugar (often sucrose) - This is the primary raw material used to produce caramel. Its function is to provide color and flavor through caramelization.

Summary of its industrial synthesis process step by step

• Sugar Selection - Sugars (often sucrose) are chosen based on the desired end color and flavor.
• Heating - The sugar is heated to initiate the caramelization process.
• Cooling - Once the desired color and flavor profile is achieved, the caramel is cooled and solidifies.
• Dissolution - The solid caramel is then dissolved in water to produce a liquid caramel color, which can be further diluted as needed for various applications.

It appears in the form of a light brown powder.

What it is used for and where

Food

A food additive colouring agent included with the number E150 in the list of European food additives. This number includes 4 types of Caramel :

• E150a : Plain caramel
• E150b : Caustic sulphite caramel
• E150c : Ammonia caramel
• E150d : Sulphite ammonia caramel

They are obtained from sugar by an industrial process using high temperatures and burning. The colour is dark and can vary from brown to black.

For E150c and E150d, there is an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) of about 200mg/kg body weight, while for E150a and E150b there is no ADI.

In particular, E150d - sulphite-ammoniacal caramel is a rather controversial colouring agent that is used in foodstuffs and is part of the E150 family of additives, all of which are colourants.  

Cosmetics

Dye

The most relevant studies and their abstracts have been selected to explore this topic:

Caramel studies

• Molecular Formula    C₇H₁₀O₂
• Molecular Weight   126.15
• CAS   8028-89-5
• UNII    T9D99G2B1R
• EC Number   232-435-9
• DSSTox ID  DTXSID0047660
• IUPAC  3,5-dimethylcyclopentane-1,2-dione
• InChl=1S/C7H10O2/c1-4-3-5(2)7(9)6(4)8/h4-5H,3H2,1-2H3
• InChl Key      MIDXCONKKJTLDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N
• SMILES  CC1CC(C(=O)C1=O)C
• NCI    C80151
• JECFA   421   
• FEMA   3269      
• UN  

Synonyms:

• ap680
• bc420(color)
• burntsugar
• burntsugarcoloring
• c.i.naturalbrown10
• caramelcolordye
• ds400
• p255
• rt80
• sethness858
• FEMA 2235
• CARAMEL I
• CARAMEL IV