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CAS: 8028-89-5
MF: C7H10O2
MW: 0
EINECS: 232-435-9
Definition
E 150a is a sugar-based food colorant made from liquid corn syrup by heating in the presence of catalysts to approximately 250F (121C) for several hours, cooling to 200F (93C), and filtering.
The brown color results from either Maillard reactions, true caramelization, or oxidative reactions.
E 150a is colloidal in nature, the particles being held in solution by either positive or negative electric charges.
Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring.
E 150a is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars), in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization.
E 150a is more fully oxidized than caramel candy, and has an odor of burnt sugar and a somewhat bitter taste.
E 150a's color ranges from pale yellow to amber to dark brown.
E 150a is one of the oldest and most widely used food colorings for enhancing naturally occurring colors, correcting natural variations in color, and replacing color that is lost to light degradation during food processing and storage.
The use of E 150a as a food additive in the brewing industry in the 19th century is the first recorded instance of it being manufactured and used on a wide scale.
Today, E 150a is found in many commercially produced foods and beverages, including batters, beer, brown bread, buns, chocolate, cookies, cough drops, spirits and liquor such as brandy, rum, and whisky, chocolate-flavored confectionery and coatings, custards, decorations, fillings and toppings, potato chips, dessert mixes, doughnuts, fish and shellfish spreads, frozen desserts, fruit preserves, glucose tablets, gravy, ice cream, pickles, sauces and dressings, soft drinks (especially colas), sweets, vinegar, and more.
E 150a is widely approved for use in food globally but application and use level restrictions vary by country.
E 150a Chemical & Physical Properties
Density: 1.35 g/cm3
Boiling Point: 312.0±42.0 °C at 760 mmHg
Molecular Formula: C6H8O3
Molecular Weight: 128.126
Flash Point: 149.2±20.7 °C
Exact Mass: 128.047348
LogP: -0.44
Vapour Pressure: 0.0±1.5 mmHg at 25°C
Index of Refraction: 1.513
E 150a is one of the oldest and most widely used food-color additives.
E 150a has an odor of burnt sugar and a pleasant, bitter taste.
However, at the low levels used in food, the taste is not perceptible.
Internationally, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and Contaminants (JECFA) has divided caramel color into four classes, depending on the reactants used in E 150a's manufacturing.
Uses
E 150a is used as a coloring agent.
E 150a provides products with a slight touch of brown.
Some sources also state that E 150a acts as a soothing agent in skin care preparations.
E 150a is a concentrated solution obtained from heating sugar or glucose solutions.
E 150a is a colorant that is an amorphous, dark brown product resulting from the controlled heat treatment of carbohydrates such as dextrose, sucrose, and malt syrup.
E 150a is available in liquid and powdered forms, providing shades of brown.
E 150a in coloring a food with caramel, the food components must have the same charge as the particles of caramel, otherwise the particles will attract one another and precipitate out.
E 150a can exist as several types, for example, acid-proof caramel of negative charge which is used in carbonated beverages, acidified solutions, bakers’ and confectioners’ caramel which are used in baked goods; and dried caramel for dry mixes.
E 150a major uses are in coloring beverages such as colas and root beers and in baked goods.
Preparation
E 150a is manufactured by heating carbohydrates, either alone or in the presence of acids, alkalis, and/or salts.
E 150a is produced from commercially available nutritive sweeteners consisting of fructose, dextrose (glucose), invert sugar, sucrose, malt syrup, molasses, starch hydrolysates, and fractions thereof.
E 150a's that may be used are sulfuric, sulfurous, phosphoric, acetic, and citric acids; the alkalis are ammonium, sodium, potassium, and calcium hydroxides; and the salts are ammonium, sodium, and potassium carbonate, bicarbonate, phosphate (including mono- and dibasic), sulfate, and bisulfite.
Antifoaming agents, such as polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, may be used as processing aids during manufacture.
E 150a's color ranges from pale yellow to amber to dark brown.
E 150a molecules carry either a positive or a negative charge depending upon the reactants used in their manufacture.
Problems such as precipitation, flocculation, or migration can be eliminated with the use of a properly charged E 150a for the intended application.
Synonyms
3,5-Dimethyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione
13494-07-0
3,5-Dimethylcyclopentane-1,2-dione
3,5-Dimethyl-1,2-cyclopentadione
1,2-Cyclopentanedione, 3,5-dimethyl-
Caramel
Fema3269
8028-89-5
caramel dione
CARAMEL COLOR A
starbld0016612
DSSTox_CID_27660
DSSTox_RID_82483
DSSTox_GSID_47660
SCHEMBL873396
CHEMBL3183686
DTXSID0047660
Tox21_302565
MFCD00143076
3,5-dimethyl-cyclopentane-1,2-dione
AKOS015898994
NCGC00256668-01
AS-61756
CAS-13494-07-0
3,5-Dimethyl-1,2-cyclopentadione, >=97%
CS-0238807
D95710
EN300-2009849
2-Hydroxy-3,5-dimethyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, 9CI
W-108275
