Vegetable charcoal is an insoluble black food coloring used in confectionery, baked goods, and ice cream.
Vegetable charcoal (also called “vegetable black”) is a form of finely ground coal that forms naturally at great depths. Then this coal can be thoroughly cleaned and crushed.
There is also a carbonization method, during which vegetable raw materials are carbonized, this method belongs to artificial and, recently, is increasingly used. Raw materials include peat, walnut shells, wood and cellulose residues.
Vegetable charcoal (E153) consists mainly of finely divided coal, which has an atomic weight of 12,01 g/mol. It is a black powder that is tasteless and odorless. It is insoluble in water and organic solvents. This dye is very resistant to heat, light and changes in the pH range.
In addition to the food industry, vegetable charcoal is used in the purification of metals, water and wastewater, in the manufacture of air filters, and in emergency medicine for the treatment of poisoning and oral overdoses of pharmaceuticals.
Use in the food industry
Vegetable charcoal is currently a food coloring allowed in the EU in all food products with a few exceptions where the use of any food coloring is specifically prohibited. E153 is rarely used alone for food coloring because it provides an intense black color that is only suitable for certain types of confectionery, ice or desserts. However, it can be used as a shading agent with other colors to provide enhanced color intensity.
It is used to color some drinks and decorate confectionery in the food industry.
It is often used in the manufacture of certain varieties of cheeses, in an amount that corresponds to the technology of their manufacture, for cleaning, as well as for coloring their shells.
Vegetable charcoal is used as a clarifying, filtering material, and is also used in the manufacture of vodka, as a sorbent and flocculant, for processing sugar solutions, fruit juices, and other products. It is also used in the production of various products, both in the food industry and in cosmetics, etc.
For example, it is used in production:
- jams, juices, jelly sweets;
- decorative cosmetics for the eyes;
- toilet soap;
- paints;
- in the manufacture of certain medicines in the pharmaceutical industry.
Application in medicine
The activated form of vegetable charcoal has adsorption properties, and the activation step also helps to remove possible impurities. The activation of vegetable charcoal is carried out using a physical process (thermal steam activation).
In addition to its use as a coloring agent, vegetable charcoal is also recommended for the treatment of bowel disorders, flatulence and bloating due to its adsorption properties, or as an antidote for oral medications in case of overdose.
Vegetable charcoal is “activated” when manufacturers heat common charcoal with gas, which increases its surface area and causes a “pore” to develop.
When applied internally, these pores allow the vegetable charcoal to absorb toxins and other bad substances onto its surface and remove them from the body.
This beneficial property, along with its supposed flatulence and teeth whitening properties, is the reason why this substance has found wide use in medicine. But you need to remember that the use of vegetable charcoal as a medicine is possible only after consulting a doctor, if only because it can interact badly with other medicines, preventing them from working normally.
Food Supplement Safety
Vegetable charcoal is not absorbed in the human intestine. Does not raise concern regarding its genotoxicity and carcinogenicity, provided that it contains less than 1,0 µg/kg of carcinogenic PAHs. Also, its use is predisposed to the history of safe use in medicine for a very long time.
European and Canadian authorities approve its use as a color additive. There is an opinion that this food additive has a carcinogenic effect, due to the fact that it may contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in impurities. But, it was found that they are contained in such small quantities that they cannot have any effect on the human body.
Although vegetable charcoal can be used as a food additive (according to EU Regulation No. 1333/2008), there is a general ban on any type of coloring in bread and pizza. Thus, baked goods containing vegetable carbon cannot be sold under the name “bread” and must be labeled under the name “thin pastries”.
E153 is known as a safe food supplement. There is no evidence that its consumption will cause any harm to special groups, including newborns, children, pregnant women and other applicable vulnerable groups. It is quite safe to use vegetable charcoal in foods and drinks as a dietary supplement without any side effects. There may be some side effects at high doses.