{
  "$schema": "https://foodadditiveindex.com/api/v1/schema.json",
  "id": "https://foodadditiveindex.com/additives/caramel",
  "slug": "caramel",
  "name": "Caramel",
  "identifiers": {
    "e_number": null,
    "ins_number": null,
    "cas_number": "13494-07-0",
    "inchikey": "MIDXCONKKJTLDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N",
    "pubchem_cid": 61634
  },
  "functional_class": null,
  "summary": "Caramel colour is the most-used colour in the world by weight, giving cola, soy sauce, gravy and dark beer their brown. Four classes exist, made differently; the ammonia classes used in cola carry 4-methylimidazole, which California requires be disclosed above a threshold while other regulators set intake limits instead.",
  "derivation_summary": "Made by heating carbohydrate — glucose, sucrose or invert sugar — with acids, alkalis or salts. Class I uses none; Class III and IV use ammonia or ammonium sulfite, which is what makes them stable in acidic soft drinks.",
  "regulatory_status": [
    {
      "jurisdiction": "US",
      "jurisdiction_name": "United States",
      "authority": "Food and Drug Administration",
      "status": "permitted",
      "status_label": "Permitted",
      "provision_count": 2,
      "provisions": [
        {
          "status": "permitted",
          "food_category": null,
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": null,
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": null,
          "citation": {
            "ref": "21 CFR 182.1235",
            "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-182.1235"
          },
          "source": "ecfr",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T18:25:51.549Z"
        },
        {
          "status": "permitted",
          "food_category": null,
          "max_level": null,
          "max_level_unit": null,
          "conditions": null,
          "effective_from": null,
          "citation": {
            "ref": "21 CFR 73.85",
            "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-21/section-73.85"
          },
          "source": "ecfr",
          "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T18:25:51.549Z"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "jurisdiction": "CODEX",
      "jurisdiction_name": "Codex Alimentarius",
      "authority": "Codex Alimentarius Commission / JECFA",
      "status": "not_listed",
      "status_label": "Not listed",
      "note": "Does not appear on this jurisdiction’s permitted list. That is not the same as being prohibited.",
      "provision_count": 0,
      "provisions": []
    }
  ],
  "names": [
    {
      "name": "13494-07-0",
      "type": "cas",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "1,2-Cyclopentanedione, 3,5-dimethyl-",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "2-CYCLOPENTEN-1-ONE, 2-HYDROXY-3,5-DIMETHYL-",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "2-Hydroxy-3,5-dimethyl-2-cyclopenten-1-one, 9CI",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-Dimethyl-1,2-cyclopentadione",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-Dimethyl-1,2-cyclopentadione, >=97%",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-Dimethyl-1,2-cyclopentanedione",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-dimethyl-2-hydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-dimethyl-cyclopentane-1,2-dione",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-Dimethylcyclopentan-1,2-dione",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-Dimethylcyclopentane-1,2-dione",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "Caramel",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "CARAMEL COLOR A",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "FEMA 3269",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "FEMA NO. 3269",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "MIDXCONKKJTLDX-UHFFFAOYSA-N",
      "type": "common",
      "source": "pubchem"
    },
    {
      "name": "3,5-dimethylcyclopentane-1,2-dione",
      "type": "iupac",
      "source": "openfoodtox"
    },
    {
      "name": "Caramel",
      "type": "label",
      "source": "ecfr"
    }
  ],
  "hazard_reference_values": [],
  "sources": [
    {
      "key": "ecfr",
      "name": "Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21",
      "publisher": "U.S. Government Publishing Office / National Archives",
      "licence": "Public domain",
      "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2026-08-31/title-21.xml",
      "retrieved_at": "2026-09-07T18:25:51.549Z"
    }
  ],
  "citation_policy": "Cite as: Food Additive Index, \"Caramel\", https://foodadditiveindex.com/additives/caramel. This site reports regulatory status and does not rate additives.",
  "generated_at": "2026-09-08T00:09:38.464Z"
}