Replacing Caramel Colors in Pet Food – Naturally!
The Future of Caramel Coloring in Pet food
Caramel colors are added to pet food to create shades of brown for various products including wet and dry pet food, as well as snacks or treats. They are complex mixtures of compounds produced by carefully controlled heat treatment of sugar and have been used to drive visual appeal in pet food for many years. Caramel colors can be classified into four classes (I-IV). Both the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have affirmed the safety of caramel colors in foods and beverages.
However, California’s Proposition 65, also known as “Prop 65” or the “Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986”, requires on-pack labeling for the use of ingredients that may cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. The impacted ingredients list includes furfuryl alcohol, found in all caramel colors, as well as 4-Methylimidazole (4-MEI), present in caramel classes III and IV. Because many brands prefer to avoid this type of label and the impracticality of custom packaging for only one state, the market is moving toward other natural brown sources for food, beverages, and pet products.
Additionally, the European Commission recently updated the animal feed additive regulations to ban caramel classes II, III, and IV from use as coloring agents in pet food and feed products by July 2025.


The transition period only provided allowances for existing stocks of the additive to be used until July 6th, 2024, premixes with those caramel colorings are to be used up until October 6th, 2024, and finished goods of the feed products containing caramel coloring of these classes may be used up until July 6th, 2025.
In short: Caramel colors II-IV will have to be
phased out of the pet food market in Europe by mid 2025.
While caramel coloring may not have a concrete immediate benefit to humans’ furry friends, it plays a crucial role in creating the expected shades of certain pet foods and ensuring consistent product appearance from one production to the next. For pet owners, the role of color in pet food is very distinct and strongly influences positive consumer choice due to a high-quality product perception.
Learn more about new research regarding the quantified impact of color in the pet category in this webinar.
Required Considerations for Replacing Caramel in Pet Food
From a purely technical standpoint, there are few negatives when it comes to performance or cost-in-use for caramel colors.
Even though caramel has a low tinctorial strength, the high usage rate typically required is offset by its low cost. For formulators, caramel has a few attractive features that make it very suitable for pet food products, such as good heat stability, stable color results across a wide pH range, and good light stability. Replacing caramel color in pet food while maintaining the high-quality visuals that consumers expect means there are a few factors to consider.
What should developers look out for when
searching alternative brown shades for any wet and
dry pet food or pet kibbles and treats?
Heat Processing
Most pet food and snack products experience some level of heat processing, e.g. extrusion or baking. The level of heat, the duration of exposure, and the temperature applied can all impact color success in the end product.

Base Color Shade
Base formulas across pet food products are very different from one another and result in different “starting points” in terms of base color shade. As the base color has an influence on the color performance, technical expertise matters. Formulating with the shade of the base in mind is a skill that Sensient color experts have developed over many years, using their experience to offer customers the best color solutions possible.

Acidity
Knowing the pH of a formula helps a color expert to understand how a color solution will perform in the final application.

Combinations
Added vitamins, minerals and preservatives are examples of just a few ingredients that may or may not interact with a color solution. Sensient’s experts offer support to focus on favorable interactions and avoid unfavorable combinations and results.

Compliance Assurance
Keeping in mind labelling preferences, country-of-origin requirements, and regional or international legal updates is critical for launch success. Customers can rely on Sensient’s experts to find the right color solution that fits all of your brand’s technical, regulatory and individual customer requirements.

Maintaining Visual Appeal via Brown Shades in Pet Food
Due to the variations associated with heat, pH, base color, and processing, a tailored color solution is often necessary to achieve stable target shades. The following can give you a first impression of what that could mean for different shades of brown without using caramel coloring.
Working with Sensient allows developers to focus on the end product while our color experts work to ensure stable performance and optimal ingredient selection. Do you need any color assistance in finding alternative ingredients to caramel? Are you looking for other high-performing natural coloring solutions for your pet food products? Sensient’s Pet Food Application Team is ready to support you through your formulation process. We would love for you to contact us today for more information and tailored solutions to fit your needs!