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The history of Caramel Colour goes a long way back. One could say that the process of caramellisation has been known since the early days of cooking. It was not until the 19th century, however, that Caramel Colour gained commercial significance, first as an additive in the brewery industry, and later, from the early 20th century, in the soft drink industry, when a method for achieving acid stable Caramel Colour had been developed.
Today Caramel Colour is manufactured using edible carbohydrates such as glucose or sucrose, which are heated and sometimes mixed with a liquid reactant (e.g. specified acids or salts) under controlled temperature and pressure until desired colour intensity is obtained, after which the Caramel Colour is cooled, filtered and stored until put on the market.
When Caramel Colour is used to colour a product, the particles of the Caramel Colour must have the same charge as the particles of the product. Since the charge of product particles may vary, several classes of Caramel Colour have been developed with different properties. Currently there exist four classes of Caramel Colours, all four approved as food additives under EU legislation with the E-numbers E150a, E150b, E150c and E150d.
Caramel Colour is used in a wide range of food products, including but not limited to soft drinks, beer, spirits, bakery wares, cereals, sauces and gravies and spice blends. In addition Caramel Colour is used in pharmaceutical, cosmetics and feed applications.
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