How should the caloric value of Caramel Colours be determined?
The only meaningful method of determining the caloric value of Caramel Colours is by calculating the caloric value of the residual sugar content. Bomb calorimetry gives high caloric values for Caramel Colours that do not reflect biologically available calories, since the colour components, although not absorbed, are carbohydrate in nature. Animal feeding tests for caloric value designed to test major food components are not sufficiently sensitive to test food additives such as Caramel Colour.
