Soft Drinks

Caramel Color is the most widely used colorant in the soft drink industry. Because of the low pH of most carbonated beverages, Class IV Caramel Colors are required for their acid stability. The most popular choices are AP100, DS400, RT120, RT180, and RT240.

In addition to providing excellent reddish to brown hues, Caramel Color can enhance soft drinks foaming characteristics, mouth feel, and flavor. Typical examples are colas, root beers, and sarsaparilla.

In beverage concentrates, Caramel Color has an emulsifying effect with the flavor oil. Caramel Color also functions as an emulsifying agent and helps eliminate the formation of certain types of "floc".

Caramel Color's light protective quality also assists in preventing oxidation of the flavoring components in bottled beverages. Sethness Caramel Color is also very stable in various processing and packaging conditions.

Beverage manufacturers sometimes use the terms "single strength" and "double strength". They are general terms describing the relative color strength of Caramel Color and may cover different ranges of color. Double Strength Caramel Color (DS400) was originally developed for use in dietetic beverages as it reduces the caloric content contributed to the beverage by the Caramel Color to about 25% of that contributed by a single strength color (AP100). However, Double Strength Caramel Color also offers greater cost efficiency, which has contributed to its rapid acceptance. It is best to evaluate the specific application to determine the appropriate Caramel Color.