Caramel color in pet food — what it is and how it scores

What it is

Caramel color (E150) is made by heating sugars, sometimes with ammonium or sulfite compounds depending on the manufacturing class. It is the workhorse brown of food manufacturing — in pet food it deepens kibble, gravies, and jerky-style treats.

Why it's in pet food

Brown reads as meaty. Caramel color exists so pale extruded pieces and thin gravies look richer than they are — a shopper-facing job, like every colorant. Debate around caramel color centers on 4-MEI, a byproduct of some manufacturing classes.

How Bowlmark scores it

Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.

Caramel color carries no deduction today: the additive pillar's dye flag names the six certified synthetic dyes — Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Red 3, Blue 1, Blue 2 — and caramel color is not among them. The flag list is versioned, advisor-tuned config.

Read the full methodology

Common questions

Answers come from this entry and the scoring rules above — reviewed before publish, like everything else on this page. For anything about your own pet, your vet knows best.

Is caramel color safe in pet food?

Caramel color (E150) is made by heating sugars, sometimes with ammonium or sulfite compounds depending on the manufacturing class; debate around it centers on 4-MEI, a byproduct of some of those classes. Its job is entirely cosmetic — brown reads as meaty, so pale pieces and thin gravies look richer than they are.

Why is caramel color in dog food?

Brown reads as meaty. Caramel color exists so pale extruded pieces and thin gravies look richer than they are — a shopper-facing job, like every colorant. It is the workhorse brown of food manufacturing: kibble, gravies, and jerky-style treats.

Does Bowlmark deduct points for caramel color?

Not today: the additive pillar's dye flag names the six certified synthetic dyes — Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Red 3, Blue 1, Blue 2 — and caramel color is not among them. The flag list is versioned, advisor-tuned config; this page tracks the rule.

Foods that list caramel color

Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.

Compare foods that list caramel color

Same species, same form, both scored — closest scores first, so the comparison is a real one.

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Sources

CSPI — Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks

Cite this page

Bowlmark. "Caramel color in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/caramel-color

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Verified: Last verified August 21, 2026

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