Caramel Brown Colorant with Class Selection for Beverages and Sauces

Ingredient profile

The Caramel Color ingredient profile combines brown coloring with aqueous formulation. Caramel Color is a brown colorant produced by the controlled heat treatment of food-grade carbohydrates, optionally with food-grade acids, alkalis or salts. It is the most widely used colorant in the food and beverage industry.

Formulation characteristics

Four Classes for Different Applications Available as Class I (plain), II (caustic sulphite), III (ammonia) and IV (sulphite ammonia) caramel, each engineered for specific systems such as soft drinks, bakery, spirits and sauces.

High Color Strength and Stability Provides strong tinctorial power with excellent stability to light, heat, pH and storage, ensuring a consistent appearance through shelf life.

Complete Water Solubility Fully soluble in water and compatible with most aqueous and alcoholic systems, requiring no special dispersion equipment.

For Caramel Color, the practical comparison is between brown coloring and the expected aqueous formulation result in the same recipe. Review four caramel classes with different charge characteristics alongside the intended use. A sample trial should record appearance, mixing behaviour and stability through the planned process. The useful acceptance criteria depend on the finished formulation rather than on a powder photograph alone.

Applications

The application examples include soft drinks, beer, spirits, sauces, gravies and bakery. The relevant preparation should be selected for the intended matrix rather than assuming every described form is interchangeable.

Ingredient details

Handling and storage

Class III and IV caramel colors are produced with ammonia and may contain trace 4-methylimidazole. Select a grade that meets the 4-MEI limits applicable in the destination market.

Store in a cool, dry and sealed place, away from direct sunlight and high temperature.