The brown color of the dyes (sometimes tending to black) is obtained from caramel, the “cooked / burnt” sugar that we all know well.
The directive of the European Union 94/36 / EU lists 4 groups / classes of "brown" color and defines the starting sugars from which these dyes can be obtained: the aforementioned sugars are glucose, sucrose or a mixture of the two; these carbohydrates they are then subjected to treatments with heat and chemicals (specifically sulfuric acid and ammonia).
The four classes are:
- E150a SIMPLE OR RAW CARAMEL
- E150b CAUSTIC SULPHITE CARAMEL
- E150c AMMONIA CARAMEL
- E150d AMMONIA SULPHITE CARAMEL (same as above)
In reference to the following dyes, it is thought that they can prevent the body from properly assimilating vitamin B6. Furthermore, there are contradictory studies on their effects: some authors think that these dyes may contain monosodium glutamate (E651) and be carcinogenic, others do not ; ultimately there is still no certainty about it.
- E151- BRILLIANT BLACK BN OR BLACK PN (C.I. 28440)
- E153-MEDICINAL VEGETABLE CHARCOAL
- E154 BROWN FK OR BROWN KIPPLER
- E155- BRUNO HT or BROWN CHOCOLATE (C.I. 20285)
