4 E150c: Caramel class III
4.1 Introduction
The major food groups containing caramel Class III are sauces and condiments, soft and carbonated drinks, pies and pastries, desserts, soup and cakes. The ADI for
ammonia caramel is 200 mgkg body weightday. There are four classes of caramel colours used as food additives and they are defined by the reactant added to the
carbohydrate during production. The reactant used in the production of Class III caramels is ammonia and so the product is sometimes called ammonia caramel.
1
4.2 Methods of analysis
No references could be found for the analysis of caramel colour Class III in foods. The only reference that could be found was for the analysis of caramel colour
Class III in general. This was an ion-pair HPLC and capillary electrophoresis method, developed to distinguish Class III caramels from Classes I and IV.
1
A summary of this method is given in Table 4.1.
4.3 Recommendations
This method produced a fingerprint peak that was present in only Class III samples and the observation of this fingerprint peak in foods could be used to indicate the
presence of Class III caramel and permit a semi-quantitative estimation of the level of caramel in the foods. Therefore this method
1
needs to be further developed and applied to foods.
4.4 References
1 ‘Analysis for caramel colour Class III’, Coffey J S, Castle L. Food Chemistry 1994
51, 413–416.
E150c: Caramel class III
29
Table 4.1 Summary of methods for caramel class III
Method Matrix
Sample preparationextraction Method conditions
Detection Reference
IP-HPLC Caramels
Sample dissolved in distilled water used HPLC: ODS-2 column with
Photodiode 1
followed as is for HPLC method.
gradient of 5 mM pentane- array at
by CE For CE filtered through 2
µm syringe sulphonic acid in MeOH–H
2
O 275 nm filter before analysis.
5:95 [A] and MeOH [B] mobile phases at 1 mLmin,
20 µL injection
Capillary electrophoresis: Open bore capillary column. 30 mM
phosphate buffer pH 1.9 at 20 kV and 35 ºC. Injections in
hydrokinetic mode, loading 1s.
5 E160b: Annatto extracts
5.1 Introduction