Sulphite ammonia caramel is the color the food industry lists as E150d. In our table it is moderate risk: it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100).
- The key finding, from EFSA: Refined exposure assessment. NO E 150d EXCEEDANCE: toddler 95th-percentile exposure reaches at most 136 mg/kg bw/day against the group ADI of 300 mg/kg bw/day, and 'the combined exposure estimates of the four caramel colours do not exceed the group ADI for any population group'. Only E 150c may exceed, and only against its lower individual ADI of 100 mg/kg bw/day. The absence of any E 150d exceedance is the basis on which this row carries no child flag (10.2903/j.efsa.2012.3030)
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. It turns up in 94 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts, most often in soft drinks, sauces and cookies. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 3 citations from EFSA and OEHHA, each one below.
What Sulphite ammonia caramel does to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Sulphite ammonia caramel takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100). Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
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EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2012.3030
Refined exposure assessment. NO E 150d EXCEEDANCE: toddler 95th-percentile exposure reaches at most 136 mg/kg bw/day against the group ADI of 300 mg/kg bw/day, and 'the combined exposure estimates of the four caramel colours do not exceed the group ADI for any population group'. Only E 150c may exceed, and only against its lower individual ADI of 100 mg/kg bw/day. The absence of any E 150d exceedance is the basis on which this row carries no child flag. -
EFSA
10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2004
SUPERSEDED — recorded for provenance, not load-bearing. The 2011 opinion reported that combined dietary exposure to all caramel colours exceeds the group ADI of 300 mg/kg bw/day at the 95th/97.5th percentile and by combined MEAN intake for children. The 2012 refined assessment (cited above) supersedes it: refined combined means are 12-105 mg/kg bw/day, all below 300, and no population group exceeds the group ADI. The 2011 exceedance is not a current finding and does not support a High-risk basis for this row. -
OEHHA
Prop 65, 4-methylimidazole (listed 2011), NSRL 29 ug/day
4-MEI, present in ammonia and sulphite-ammonia caramels, is a Prop 65 listed carcinogen; EU specifications cap 4-MEI at 250 ppm for class IV caramel.
Why this class
IARC Group 2B; or an EFSA re-evaluation that flagged genotoxicity data gaps, found safety could not be assessed on the available data, or cut the ADI citing child exposure; or an EU harmonised classification of the substance as a reproductive or developmental hazard; or an EU withdrawal of one authorised food use while others remain; or an OEHHA/Proposition 65 listing; or membership of the Southampton-six colourants.
Our confidence in this row's classification is high. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Is Sulphite ammonia caramel (E150d) safe for kids?
Moderate risk. In Sito it takes 15 points off the additive subscore, a third of a product's score (about 5 of the 100). The finding we rely on: Refined exposure assessment. NO E 150d EXCEEDANCE: toddler 95th-percentile exposure reaches at most 136 mg/kg bw/day against the group ADI of 300 mg/kg bw/day, and 'the combined exposure estimates of the four caramel colours do not exceed the group ADI for any population group'. Only E 150c may exceed, and only against its lower individual ADI of 100 mg/kg bw/day. The absence of any E 150d exceedance is the basis on which this row carries no child flag (EFSA, 10.2903/j.efsa.2012.3030).
What is E150d?
E150d is the E number for Sulphite ammonia caramel, a color. It is one of the forms of E150 (Caramel) in our table, with E150a, E150b and E150c. Open Food Facts tags it en:e150d.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E150d in our table, then the closest colors by number.
- Caramel (E150), moderate risk, flagged for young children
- Plain caramel (E150a), no risk identified
- Caustic sulphite caramel (E150b), no risk identified
- Ammonia caramel (E150c), moderate risk, flagged for young children
- Brilliant Black BN (E151), no risk identified
- Vegetable carbon (E153), low risk