Consumer Reports tested a total of 28 samples of pancake syrups that listed caramel color on the label and pure maple syrup (as a control). We purchased our samples at grocery stores in California and the New York metropolitan area in May 2012 and April through July of 2013. (The maple-syrup samples were bought in New York.) Because there was little regional variation in our samples, the table below lists averages for the products purchased in both locations. Our study provides a snapshot of the market, but it was not large enough to recommend one brand over another, or to be indicative of levels that would always be found in any given brand.