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

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