All you need to know about Caramels

Burnt Sugar is a caramelised sugar syrup produced through the controlled heating of food sugars without the addition of other ingredients/additives. The Maillard reaction caramelised the starches contained in sugar and produces the brown colour and caramel flavour.

Plant-Ex offers a large range of caramels that can be used for multiple applications serving different purposes. Here are some of our top options:

Burnt Sugar (or E150a) has very good heat and light stability and is available in liquid and powder form. It can be used in a wide range of sweet and savoury applications and is considered a colouring food ingredient when used for its flavour and colour. When used just for its colour, it is declared as a colour under the E-number E150a.

Plant-Ex Caramel Portfolio:

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Product Code	Name	Description	Strength/Colour Units (EBC)	Format	Class type	Solubility	Label declaration
NC0020/CF0020	Burnt Sugar Syrup	A dark brown viscous liquid produced through the controlled heating of glucose syrup, without the addition of chemical additives	14,000 – 16,000 EBC	Liquid/Syrup	Class I	Water	Colour: E150a or Plain Caramel, or Natural Flavouring, or Burnt Sugar (Colouring Foodstuff)
NC0021/CF0021	Burnt Sugar Powder	A brown powder produced through controlled heating of Glucose Syrup, without chemical additives, and spray dried into a powder	16,000 – 20,000 EBC	Powder	Class I	Water	Colour: E150a or Plain Caramel, or Natural Flavouring, or Burnt Sugar (Colouring Foodstuff)
NC015435A	Plain Caramel Powder	A brown powder produced through controlled heating of Glyucose Syrup, without chemical additives spray dried onto Wheat derived Maltodextrin	18,000 – 19,4000 EBC	Powder	Class I	Water	Colour: E150a or Plain Caramel, or Natural Flavouring, or Burnt Sugar (Colouring Foodstuff)
CF019097A	Burnt Sugar Powder 2X	Dark brown powder, obtained by the controlled heat treatment of food sugars in presence of alkaline compounds and dried via spray drying onto maltodextrin	30,000 EBC	Powder	Class I	Water	Colour: 150a or Plain Caramel, or Natural Flavouring, or Burnt Sugar (Colouring Foodstuff)
NC1501	Caramel Colour	Amber, Class III, beer stable, water soluble liquid with a positive colloidal charge used to colour food and beverage products	39,000 – 43,000 EBC	Liquid/Syrup	Class III	Water	Colour: E150c or Ammonia Caramel
NC1506	Caramel Powder	Dark brown, Class III, water soluble powder with a positive colloidal charge used to colour food and beverage products	47,000 – 53,000 EBC	Powder	Class III	Water	Colour: E150c or Ammonia Caramel
NC2107	Caramel Extract	Dark brown, Class IV, double strength, acid proof, water soluble liquid with a negative colloidal charge used to colour food and beverage products	46,000 – 47,5000 EBC	Liquid/Syrup	Class IV	Water	Colour: E150d or Ammonia Sulphite Caramel
NC012554A	Caramel Powder	Dark brown, Class IV, double strength, acid proof, water soluble powder with a negative colloidal charge used to colour food and beverage products	78,000 – 90,000 EBC	Powder	Class IV	Water	Colour: E150d or Ammonia Sulphite Caramel
NC019781A	Caramel Powder	Dark brown powder, acid stable, obtained by the controlled heat treatment on glucose, in the presence of ammonium sulphite and dried by atomisation.	95,000 EBC	Powder	Class IV	Water	Colour: E150d or Ammonia Sulphite Caramel
NC019782A	Caramel Colour	A dark brown liquid obtained by the controlled heat treatment of glucose in presence of ammonium sulphite. This caramel is a “Double Strength Acid Proof Caramel”. The sulphite gives it a negative colloidal charge and the presence of amine functions allows its stability in acidic medium.	50,000 EBC	liquid	Class IV	water	Colour: E150d or Ammonia Sulphite Caramel

Label Declaration:

Declarations of caramelised sugars as either caramel, flavouring and colouring foodstuff or aroma depends on the primary reason for use.

1. If colouring is the sole reason, the product falls under the food additives regulation EU 1333/2008 and needs to comply with definitions and purity as described in EU directive 2008/128/EG.

2. If flavour is the main reason for use, the product can be seen as an aromatic preparation and then falls under the EU regulation for aroma’s EU 1334/2008. The declaration is then natural flavouring.

The most common declaration however is as such, naming the ingredient “caramelised sugar” or “caramel” which supplies both colour and flavour.

EU Labelling declaration: Colour: E150a, Natural Flavouring, Burnt Sugar.

• E150a: include alcoholic beverages, bakery, sauces, confectionery, dairy and ice cream, pet food, tea, coffee, meat and meat substitutes. Good for general use in multiple applications.
• E150c: used in Beers, sauces, teas, coffee, bakery and savoury applications.
• E150d: acid stable so suitable for acidic applications such as soft drinks and confectionery.
• Colour variation:
• E150a/Burnt Sugar: range in colour shade from light yellow/golden-brown to reddish-brown.
• E150c: Light brown to dark yellow-brown.
• E150d: Darkest brown shade out of all the Caramels, from light brown to dark red/blackish-brown shades like Cola

Want to know where else to use Plant-Ex products? Check out our Applications page for inspiration.

Our team is ready to help you choose the right colour, and dosage for your product. We are also able to provide in-house application trials in our application kitchen. Should you require further details, please email us at  sales@plant-ex.com