Is Caramel Color Bad For You?

Should we be worried about caramel color? The answer is- it’s complicated. For my family, it’s a hard no. There is room for compromise, but, like everything else in food labeling, you’ve got to know what it is and how it was made.

What is “Caramel Color”?

It is primarily a colorant, though it provides some secondary benefits that weren’t necessarily intended- more on that later.

To get technical, caramel color is made by heating carbohydrates (a variety of sugar options here) along with acids, alkalis and/or salts. The acid options include sulfuric, phosphoric, acetic or citric. Alkalis might be ammonium, sodium, potassium or calcium hydroxides. The salt options might be ammonium, sodium, potassium carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate, sulfate or bisulfite. Antifoaming agents are often used as well.

There are four classes of caramel color- the first class being something more like what we’re used to when we think of “caramel” and closer to the realm of real food. The other three classes of this additive are where the trouble lies.

Where Do We Find Caramel Color?

The “caramel color” additive shows up on the labels of processed food and drink like beer, bread, chocolate treats, cookies, cough drops, liquors, candy, potato chips, dessert mixes, doughnuts, medications, fish and shellfish dips/spreads, frozen desserts, jams and jellies, gravy, ice cream, pickles, sauces, dressings, sodas, vinegar and more.

The Fake-Out

In essence, this additive is made by a perversion of the process of caramelization. It is both similar to that which you might perform while holiday baking in your own kitchen… and not like it at all.

Creating caramel in your kitchen is a less oxidized version… think less “burnt”. You would stop the caramelization at something that has a slight caramel flavor and color.

Your caramel happens as a result of simple browning of sugar. Fun fact- scientists don’t fully understand the caramelization process yet! When done properly, it results in a rich, buttery flavor and familiar brown color. Caramelization is different than the maillard reaction which takes place between the sugar molecule and the protein molecule at a lower temperature. This can easily be accomplished by mixing sugar and cream and bringing it to the right temperature (245 degrees F).

Caramel coloring takes the sugar browning process all the way to the end and winds up with a colored substance that is bitter instead of buttery. It starts with a sugar source like you did, but requires different ingredients that your home caramel doesn’t need to keep it stable because this unnatural process is going to go all the way out to “burnt”. Some of those different ingredients can be problematic for your health at best.

Why Not Just Use The Real Food Version?

Well, in short, it’s all about shelf stability. Caramel color is not food. It mimics the “brown food” aspect of true caramelization, but results in something that tastes bad and smells burnt. We are conditioned to see that brown food and think of the comforting, tasty aspects of the maillard or caramelization reactions. It is enticing for a reason. On the upside (for the manufacturer), the caramel color substance is completely devoid of anything that could spoil, so it doesn’t threaten shelf-stability estimates.

In the manufacture of food a substance that doesn’t have any startling health ramifications, and has side effects like adding color, emulsification and light protection, is a big win. So, it’s no wonder you see caramel coloring in a LOT of products. Worth noting is that you can also start with cheaper ingredients to make the fake food version… if you start with HFCS instead of true sugar, the resulting colorant will be easier on the profit margin.

Is Caramel Coloring Toxic?

Yes and no. There are some forms of caramel color that are considered to be problematic depending on who you ask. In general, caramel color is believed to be harmless in small amounts by the alphabet agencies that determine such things. That is, except for the caramel colorings that are produced by the addition of ammonium (class III and IV). That specific type of coloring yields another problematic chemical called 4-Mel (4-Methylimidazole) which has its own levels of toxicity in the ppm scale. California lists caramel coloring created this way as a known carcinogen.

The second concern for some is the caramel colors that are created with sulfites (class II and IV). Sulfites are definitely a problem for some people who react badly to them with symptoms like asthma, hives, nausea and headaches to name just a few.

Why Avoid Caramel Coloring?

In my book, it’s a non-starter because it’s not food masquerading as the real thing. It is possible that some of the forms of caramel coloring are fairly innocuous. The trouble is, they don’t have to tell you how they made it!

No Disclosure

Why is it so important to understand WHAT you are eating, or HOW it was made? Ask someone who has a food allergy!

The primary sugar families that caramel coloring starts out with are wheat, barley, corn and dairy. It seems to me that the process of creation should burn up any offending proteins, but people with gluten or dairy allergies are usually warned against caramel coloring in general. This suggests to me that there is still something of the allergen remaining in the final product.

The next problem is that most of corn and wheat that would be used in the production of caramel coloring is sprayed with some pretty nasty chemicals.

Finally, without disclosure, we cannot know how the caramel coloring in that soda we’re holding was produced. Is it a class II, III or IV? Which chemical additives are we dealing with here? The answer matters.

Is There an Organic Option?

YES! Organic caramel coloring is commercially available. It is considered as Class I caramel coloring and is created by the coloring of sugar in natural caramelization. Class I caramel coloring can be made at home, but it is perishable- a GREAT sign that you’ve made real food!

Organic caramel coloring, when found in the ingredients list of your favorite snack, is made with sugar and none of the other caustic chemicals or worrying allergens.

Does Soda Farm Use Caramel Coloring?

NO! We simply don’t need to add anything to our ingredient list that isn’t necessary to be there. Our Homestead Cola is naturally colored brown! We tend to not worry so much about making our sodas a different color than the ingredients make them because we don’t have anything to hide and have no wish to deceive your mind or your taste buds!!