There are two reasons why caramel color has been
approved for use worldwide: It works. And it’s safe.
Leading public health organizations and regulatory
agencies, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the World
Health Organization (WHO), Codex Alimentarius, the European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) and Health Canada (HC), have all reviewed and deemed these
colors safe.
In this section, you can learn more about caramel color
from both a research and
regulatory
perspective.
Should You Worry About Caramel Color As A Health Risk?
Some consumer advocacy groups have raised concerns
about a chemical compound called 4-MEI that is present in very low levels in
class III and IV caramel colors. This compound forms naturally during
normal cooking processes — such as roasting coffee beans, baking bread, and
caramelizing sugar during caramel color manufacturing.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that
it “has no reason to believe that there are any immediate or short-term health
risks presented by 4-MEI at the levels expected in food.” The European Food
Safety Authority (EFSA) states that, in its assessment, “the
highest exposure level to 4-MEI that could result from the
consumption of foods containing E150c [caramel color class III] and E150d
[caramel color class IV] did not give rise to concern.” In other words, the
everyday consumption of caramel color is not expected to present a health
concern.
The FDA is not
recommending that consumers change their diets because of concerns about 4-MEI.
To learn more, visit www.foodinsight.org and search for “caramel color.”
