LOUISVILLE, KY, USA (January 5, 2001) – D.D. Williamson, the world’s largest manufacturer of caramel color, announced that three of its senior food technologists - William Kamuf, Alexander Nixon, and Owen Parker 0 have published a scholarly paper that provides the most extensive analysis to date of the chemical properties and functionalities of the four classes of caramel color.
The paper, based on a presentation the trio made at a symposium held by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) in July 1999, appears in a new book titled Natural Food Colorants. The book was published by Marcel Dekker, Inc., of New York City, as part of the publisher’s IFT Basic Symposium Series. The series comprises well-respected reference works used by food scientists and technologists, flavor chemists, biochemists, microbiologists, and nutritionists, as well as students in these disciplines.
The book was edited by Gabriel J. Lauro, director of California State Polytechnic University’s Natural Color Resource Institute in Pomona, Calif., and F. Jack Francis of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Mass.
“We believe it is significant that caramel color is now represented in an academic venue reserved for natural color,” said Parker, vice president of Food Technology Laboratory, Inc., a D.D. Williamson subsidiary. “Until now, many people - both scholars and laypersons - have tended to think of caramel color in terms of being artificial, and it’s not. In labeling, caramel color is classified the same as beet powder or annatto.
Kamuf is D.D. Williamson’s vice president of technical services, and Nixon is the firm’s technical director.
The paper, titled “Caramel Color”, includes a historical perspective on the use of caramel color as a food additive, focusing on its utility with tasty foods that, in their original states, most people find visually unappealing. The paper notes the four classes of caramel color developed by International Technical Caramel Association (ITCA). It provides a comprehensive analysis of the chemical properties of each class, as well as an unprecedentedly detailed discussion of the appropriate uses for caramel colors in each class.
“As the global marketplace has expanded, so has demand for natural food coloring,” said Parker. “Our associates are happy to play a role in helping to assert D.D. Williamson’s authority in the science of caramel color. We’re gratified that our research may influence those who will be charged with finding better ways of feeding the world tomorrow.”
Natural Food Colorants can be ordered from Marcel Dekker at 1-212-696-9000; or refer to the publisher’s web site at
http://www.dekker.com/.
D.D. Williamson, established in 1865 and headquartered in Louisville, is North America’s oldest and world’s largest manufacturer of caramel color. The company offers fifty liquid varieties and twelve powdered varieties of the product. All but the newest of its seven manufacturing operations - located in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa - are ISO 9000 certified and have been recognized with numerous quality awards. D.D. Williamson produces caramel color for leading global brand names for use in beverages, sauces, baking, soups, and dry mixes, as well as pet foods and pharmaceutical products.