Caramel III - ammonia caramel

E number E150cINS 150cCAS 8028-89-5

Used as a colour.

Caramel III is the ammonia caramel class, used in beers, sauces, gravies and baked goods. It is the caramel that carries a positive charge in solution, which suits it to protein-containing foods.

Where it is and isn’t permitted

Status of Caramel III - ammonia caramel by jurisdiction. Every jurisdiction this site covers is listed, including those where the substance does not appear.
JurisdictionStatusScope and limitsCitation
United StatesFood and Drug AdministrationNot listedDoes not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.
Codex AlimentariusCodex Alimentarius Commission / JECFAPermitted, with conditions

89 food categories

highest permitted level 60,000 mg/kg

Show every food category
  • 01.1.4 Flavoured Fluid Milk Drinks — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 01.3.2 Beverage whiteners — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 01.4.4 Cream analogues — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 01.5.2 Milk and cream powder analogues — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 01.6.1 Unripened cheese — 15,000 mg/kg
  • 01.6.2.2 Rind of ripened cheese — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 01.6.4.2 Flavoured processed cheese, including containing fruit, vegetables, meat, etc. — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 01.6.5 Cheese analogues — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 01.7 Dairy-based desserts (e.g. pudding, fruit or flavoured yoghurt) — 2,000 mg/kg
  • 02.2.2 Fat spreads, dairy fat spreads and blended spreads — 500 mg/kg
  • 02.3 Fat emulsions mainly of type oil-in-water, including mixed and/or flavoured products based on fat emulsions — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 02.4 Fat-based desserts excluding dairy-based dessert products of food category 01.7 — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 03.0 Edible ices, including sherbet and sorbet — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.11 Fruit fillings for pastries — 7,500 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.3 Fruit in vinegar, oil, or brine — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.4 Canned or bottled (pasteurized) fruit — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.5 — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.6 Fruit-based spreads (e.g. chutney) excluding products of food category — 500 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.7 Candied fruit — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.8 Fruit preparations, including pulp, purees, fruit toppings and coconut milk — 7,500 mg/kg
  • 04.1.2.9 Fruit-based desserts, incl. fruit-flavoured water-based desserts — 200 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.2 Dried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweeds, and nuts and seeds — 25,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.3 Vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds in vinegar, oil, brine, or soybean sauce — 500 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.4 Canned or bottled (pasteurized) or retort pouch vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.5 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed purees and spreads (e.g. peanut butter) — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.6 Vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), seaweed, and nut and seed pulps and preparations (e.g. vegetable desserts and sauces, candied vegetables) other than food category 04.2.2.5 — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.7 Fermented vegetable (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera) and seaweed products, excluding fermented soybean products of food categories 06.8.6, 06.8.7, 12.9.1, — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 04.2.2.8 Cooked or fried vegetables (including mushrooms and fungi, roots and tubers, pulses and legumes, and aloe vera), and seaweeds — 25,000 mg/kg
  • 05.1.2 Cocoa mixes (syrups) — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 05.1.3 Cocoa-based spreads, incl. fillings — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 05.1.4 Cocoa and chocolate products — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 05.1.5 Imitation chocolate, chocolate substitute products — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 05.2 Confectionery including hard and soft candy, nougats, etc. other than food categories 05.1, 05.3, and 05.4 — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 05.3 Chewing gum — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 05.4 Decorations (e.g. for fine bakery wares), toppings (non-fruit), and sweet sauces — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 06.3 Breakfast cereals, including rolled oats — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 06.4.3 Pre-cooked pastas and noodles and like products — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 06.5 Cereal and starch based desserts (e.g. rice pudding, tapioca pudding) — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 06.6 Batters (e.g. for breading or batters for fish or poultry) — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 06.7 Pre-cooked or processed rice products, including rice cakes (Oriental type only) — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 06.8.1 Soybean-based beverages — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 06.8.8 Other soybean protein products — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.2 Crackers, excluding sweet crackers — 15,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.3 Other ordinary bakery products (e.g. bagels, pita, English muffins) — 15,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.4 Bread-type products, including bread stuffing and bread crumbs — 15,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.5 Steamed breads and buns — 15,000 mg/kg
  • 07.1.6 Mixes for bread and ordinary bakery wares — 15,000 mg/kg
  • 07.2 Fine bakery wares (sweet, salty, savoury) and mixes — 15,000 mg/kg
  • 08.1.2 Fresh meat, poultry and game, comminuted — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 08.2.1.1 Cured (including salted) non-heat treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 08.2.2 Heat-treated processed meat, poultry, and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 3,400 mg/kg
  • 08.2.3 Frozen processed meat, poultry and game products in whole pieces or cuts — 400 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1.1 Cured (including salted) non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1.2 Cured (including salted) and dried non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 08.3.1.3 Fermented non-heat treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 08.3.2 Heat-treated processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 8,600 mg/kg
  • 08.3.3 Frozen processed comminuted meat, poultry, and game products — 9,400 mg/kg
  • 08.4 Edible casings (e.g. sausage casings) — 60,000 mg/kg
  • 09.1 Fresh fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 30,000 mg/kg
  • 09.2 Processed fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 30,000 mg/kg
  • 09.3 Semi-preserved fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 30,000 mg/kg
  • 09.4 Fully preserved, including canned or fermented fish and fish products, including molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms — 500 mg/kg
  • 10.1 Fresh eggs — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 10.3 Preserved eggs, including alkaline, salted, and canned eggs — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 10.4 Egg-based desserts (e.g. custard) — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 11.4 Other sugars and syrups (e.g. xylose, maple syrup, sugar toppings) — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 12.2.2 Seasonings and condiments — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 12.3 Vinegars — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 12.4 Mustards — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 12.5 Soups and broths — 25,000 mg/kg
  • 12.6 Sauces and like products — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 12.7 Salads (e.g. macaroni salad, potato salad) and sandwich spreads excluding cocoa-and nut-based spreads of food categories 04.2.2.5 and 05.1.3 — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 12.9.2.1 Fermented soybean sauce — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 12.9.2.2 Non-fermented soybean sauce — 1,500 mg/kg
  • 12.9.2.3 Other soybean sauces — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 13.3 Dietetic foods intended for special medical purposes (excluding products of food category 13.1) — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 13.4 Dietetic formulae for slimming purposes and weight reduction — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 13.5 Dietetic foods (e.g. supplementary foods for dietary use) excluding products of food categories — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 13.6 Food supplements — 20,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.4 Water-based flavoured drinks, including "sport," “energy,” or "electrolyte" drinks and particulated drinks — 5,000 mg/kg
  • 14.1.5 Coffee, coffee substitutes, tea, herbal infusions, and other hot cereal and grain beverages, excluding cocoa — 10,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.1 Beer and malt beverages — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.2 Cider and perry — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.3.3 Fortified grape wine, grape liquor wine, and sweet grape wine — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.4 Wines (other than grape) — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.5 Mead — 1,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.6 Distilled spirituous beverages containing more than 15% alcohol — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 14.2.7 Aromatized alcoholic beverages (e.g. beer, wine and spirituous cooler-type beverages, low-alcoholic refreshers) — 50,000 mg/kg
  • 15.0 Ready-to-eat savouries — 10,000 mg/kg
CXS 192-1995 Table One, INS 150cand 88 further provisionsretrieved 2026-09-07

What it is made from

Produced by heating food-grade carbohydrates with ammonium compounds but no sulfite. Codex and the EU set limits on 4-methylimidazole, a compound formed in the ammonia caramel processes.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
CAS registry number
8028-89-5

Every name it appears under

7 recorded names. A label may use any of them.

E number

  • E150c

INS number

  • 150c

CAS registry number

  • 8028-89-5

Other names

  • Ammonia caramel
  • CARAMEL III - AMMONIA CARAMEL
  • Class III Ammonia Caramel
  • E 150c

Hazard reference values

Values set by assessing bodies. A body that has not set a value is not listed here.
TypeValuePopulationAssessed byOpinion
ADI100 mg/kg bw/dayconsumersEFSA ANS2011

Evidence and how bodies read it

Studies, and the differing conclusions regulators drew from them, are curated by hand rather than machine-read, and none has been written for this substance yet.

Sources for this page

  • gsfa retrieved 2026-09-07

Full licence terms and publisher details on Sources. How this page is built and updated: Method.

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