Assessment of the genotoxic potential of Caramel Colour I in four short-term tests

A battery of three short-term tests in vitro and one in vivo was used to determine the genotoxicity of Caramel Colour I. The results of the bacterial mutation assay, using five strains of Salmonella typhimurium, and the mouse micronucleus assay in vivo showed no evidence of genotoxic activity. Results from both the cytogenetics assay in vitro, using CHO cells, and the mouse lymphoma assay indicated that there was some genotoxic activity associated with Caramel Colour I but only in the absence of S-9 and at very high dose levels.