Ammonia caramel

Caramel colors, liquid forms S.S Type IV, E 150d CU = 115 to 120 Ammonia sulfite Brown Carbonated drinks, candies, baked goods, syrups, pet foods... 

According to EU purity criteria, color intensity is defined as the absorbance of a 0.1% (w/v) solution of caramel color solids in water in a 1 cm cell at 610 nm. The color intensity must be 0.01 to 0.12 for class I (E 150a), 0.05 to 0.13 for class II (E 150b), 0.08 to 0.36 for class III (E 150c), and 0.10 to 0.60 for class IV (E 150d). Ammonia caramels show the highest tinctorial power and are most commonly used as food colorants. Class I has the weakest coloring properties and is mostly used as flavor. 

Sikora, M., Tomasik, R, and Palasilski, M., Enhancement of tinctorial strength of non-ammonia caramels, Starke, 41, 275, 1989. 

Sikora, M. and Tomasik, R, Alternative route to non-ammonia caramels of high tinctorial shength, Starke, 41, 318, 1989. 

Pyrroles are found in the volatiles of most heated foods [29], although they have received less attention than some other classes of aroma volatiles. Some pyrroles may contribute desirable aromas, e.g. 2-acetylpyrrole has a caramel-like aroma, and pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde is sweet and corn-like, but alkylpyrroles and ac-ylpyrroles have been reported to have unfavourable odours [22]. Many more volatile pyrroles have been found in coffee than in other foods [30], and they are common products of amino acid-sugar model systems. Pyrroles are closely related in structure to the furans, and they are probably formed in a related manner from the reaction of a 3-deoxyketose with ammonia or an amino compound followed by dehydration and ring closure (cf Scheme 12.2). 

Lemonade shandy is made with shandy ale , a bitter beer brewed to 6.5% ABV to minimise transport costs. For colouring the product it is important to use an ammonia caramel as the sulphite ammonia caramels used for conventional soft drinks will react with tannins in the beer and precipitate out. 

Recently, the FDA has warned about the chemical caramel colorings as food additives that are produced with ammonia, as they may contain the carcinogens 2- and 4-methylimidazole (11MI2). 

Carotene 160 Carotene (others)— report of sulfite ammonia caramel used widely in soft drinks like cola causing problems in extra sulfite sensitive people, particularly asthma patients. 160e and 160f are too new to have been tested... 

Class III (Ammonia Caramel) Prepared by heating carbohydrates with or without acids or alkalis in the presence of ammonium compounds no sulfite compounds are used. 

Caramel in this context means a brown colour that is produced either traditionally by heating sugar or as a very intense product that is made by heating carbohydrate, usually glucose syrup, with ammonia. Caramel colour is the product of the Maillard reaction, i.e. the reaction of a reducing sugar with an amino group. Chemically the colour is a melanoidin - these substances are extremely stable and can be used in any type of confectionery. 

The polymeric material from the plain caramel is generated from the condensation reactions of the aldehydes and ketones formed by heating the sugar with bases or acids. The ammonia caramel is formed in a Maillard type reaction [2] where carbonyl compounds react with amino groups or ammonia. This type of compound will be further presented in Sections 11.2 and 11.3. Sulfite caramel is also a Maillard type polymer. However, as hydrogen sulfites form stable adducts with aldehydes and ketones, the sulfite caramels include in their structure sulfite groups. 

The Maillard reaction plays an important role in flavor development, especially in meat and savory flavor (Buckholz, 1988). Products of the Maillard reaction are aldehydes, acids, sulfur compounds (e.g., hydrogen sulfide and methanethiol), nitrogen compounds (e.g., ammonia and amines), and heterocyclic compounds such as furans, pyrazines, pyrroles, pyridines, imidazoles, oxazoles, thiazoles, thiophenes, di- and trithiolanes, di- and trithianes, and furanthiols (Martins et al., 2001). Higher temperature results in production of more heterocyclic compounds, among which many have a roasty, toasty, or caramel-like aroma. 

The WHO/FAO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives - distinguishes three general kinds of caramel ( / caramel color plain, (2) caramel color, ammonia process, and (3) caramel color, ammonium sulfite process. Both the European Technical Caramel Association (EUTECA) and the International Technical Caramel Association (ITCA) have standardized the properties of four classes and ten types of caramels they are given in Table I. The content of heavy metals cannot exceed values reported in the footnote to that Table. 

The standardization of ammonia caramek presents a special task. In the course of the manufacture of caramek in the presence of ammonia and ammonium compounds, 4(S)-methylimidazole is formed, and it is neurotoxic. Its content " in caramel is limited by the Food Laws of several countries (for instance, in Austria and the United Kingdom ) and by the WHO r jdations (see also articles by Thier and Wood ). (The specification and analysis of ammonia caramek manufactured in the United... 

It is well known that caramels from ammonia processes used to have a higher tinctorial strength than the other caramels. Even so, the color properties of ammonia caramels may appear to be insuflicient. All attempts to produce a caramel of higher tinctorial strength may result in formation of a product having other undesirable properties, among them, a higher content of 4(5)-methylimidazole. Decades ago, studies were developed on the en-... 

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