Ammonized caramel with E-number 150c - also called caramel colour - is a brown dye that is produced by a controlled heat treatment. For example, glucose syrup, sucrose/invert sugar syrup and dextrose with added ammonia.
Ammonized caramel is used as a dye, partly to avoid confusion of capsules with different content and strength but also to protect the content from sunlight and thus ensure the quality of the active substances throughout the product's shelf life.
In 2011, the European Food Safety Council (EFSA) published a scientific assessment of the substance, which established an accepted daily intake of 0.3 grams / kg body weight.
Ammonized caramel can be found in coke, sauce colour, wine, chocolate, ice cream, confectionery and dark beer such as guinness. Against this background, EFSA has established that certain sections of the population are at moderate risk of overusing E150c.
However, an overdose of ammoniated caramel from Pharma Nord's capsules is not realistic. An example: If you drink half a liter of Guinness, you get the same amount of ammoniated caramel as, for example, 2 years of consumption of Bio-Ubiquinol.