Label check
Red Food Dye Ban: What It Means for Your Grocery Cart
Red No. 3 is being pulled from US shelves, but it is just one of many synthetic dyes still in your food. Here is what changed, what did not, and how to spot them all.
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The Red Dye Ban Is a Start, But It Is Not the Whole Story
In January 2025, the FDA revoked authorization for Red No. 3 (erythrosine) in food and ingested drugs, citing evidence that it caused cancer in laboratory animals. The decision gave manufacturers until January 2027 to reformulate. It was the first time in over 30 years that the FDA banned a color additive from the food supply, and it sparked a much larger public conversation about what else might be lurking in everyday products.
Here is what many people do not realize: Red No. 3 is far from the only synthetic dye on shelves. Red 40 (Allura Red), Yellow 5 (Tartrazine), Yellow 6 (Sunset Yellow), Blue 1 (Brilliant Blue), and several others remain fully legal in the United States, despite being banned or requiring warning labels in the European Union. These petroleum-derived colorants appear in everything from breakfast cereal and candy to pickles and salad dressing.
The red food dye ban brought important attention to a long-standing gap between what the science says and what regulators allow. For shoppers who want to avoid synthetic dyes entirely, not just the one that got banned, reading ingredient labels (or scanning them) is the only reliable approach.
How it works
How to Find Synthetic Dyes Hiding in Your Food
1Scan Products You Buy Regularly
Point BerryPure at the ingredient labels of products already in your pantry. The app identifies synthetic dyes by their official names (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1) and flags them immediately, even when buried in a long ingredient list.
2Check Surprising Categories
Dyes show up in unexpected places. Scan your pickles, cheese, vitamins, cough syrup, and even some breads. Many products use dyes purely for visual appeal, not flavor, meaning there is no functional reason for them to be there.
3Compare Dye-Free Alternatives
For every dyed product, there is usually a dye-free option on the same shelf. Scan competing brands side by side. Products colored with turmeric, beet juice, or paprika extract achieve similar colors without synthetic chemicals.
- 4
Build a Dye-Free Shopping List
Once you have identified clean alternatives for your staples, save them as your go-to choices. Over a few shopping trips, you can eliminate synthetic dyes from your household without any ongoing effort.
Cleaner swaps
Ditch the Dyes with These Simple Swaps
Brightly colored breakfast cereal (contains Red 40, Yellow 6)
Cereal colored with fruit and vegetable juice concentrates
Several brands now achieve vibrant colors using beet, carrot, and blueberry concentrates instead of petroleum-based dyes, with identical taste.
Conventional candy and gummy snacks
Brands using natural colorants like annatto, turmeric, and spirulina
Petroleum-derived dyes in candy are purely cosmetic. Natural alternatives produce the same visual appeal while avoiding FD&C-numbered additives.
Artificially colored sports drinks
Coconut water or naturally flavored sparkling water
The neon color of most sports drinks comes from Yellow 5 or Blue 1 mixed with Yellow 5. These dyes add zero nutritional or functional value.
Dyed pickles and relish (Yellow 5)
Naturally fermented pickles with no added color
Many commercial pickle brands add Yellow 5 to make the brine look more vibrant. Traditional fermented pickles achieve their color from the turmeric and dill in the recipe.
Colored frosting and cake mixes
Baking mixes that use beet powder, matcha, or cocoa for color
Store-bought frosting is one of the most dye-heavy products in the grocery store. Plant-based colorants work just as well for home baking.
Frequently askedquestions
Everything you need to know about scanning your food with Berry Pure.
Which red food dye was actually banned?
The FDA revoked authorization for Red No. 3, also known as erythrosine (FD&C Red No. 3). This specific dye was used in some candies, canned fruit, frosting, and baked goods. Red 40 (Allura Red), which is far more common, was NOT part of the ban and remains legal.
When does the red food dye ban take effect?
The FDA gave food manufacturers until January 15, 2027, and pharmaceutical companies until January 18, 2028, to reformulate products containing Red No. 3. Products manufactured before those dates can continue to be sold until supply runs out.
Are other food dyes still safe?
That is an active area of debate. The EU requires warning labels on products containing six specific synthetic dyes, stating they may have adverse effects on activity and attention in children. The US has no such requirement. The FDA considers the remaining approved dyes safe at current levels, but consumer advocacy groups disagree on several of them.
How can I tell if a product contains synthetic dyes?
Look for FD&C-numbered names in the ingredient list: Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 are the most common. Some labels also list them by their chemical names (Allura Red, Tartrazine, etc.). BerryPure flags all synthetic dyes during scanning so you do not have to memorize the names.
Do natural colors mean a product is healthy?
Not necessarily. A product can use natural colorants like beet juice or turmeric and still be loaded with sugar, refined flour, or other ultra-processed ingredients. Color source is one factor to check, but it should be evaluated alongside the full ingredient list.
Why does the US allow dyes that Europe restricts?
The US and EU use different regulatory frameworks. The EU applies the precautionary principle, restricting substances when there is reasonable concern, even without conclusive proof of harm. The US requires more definitive evidence before taking action, which leads to a slower response cycle on emerging safety data.
See what’s really
in your food
Scan your first label in seconds and start making cleaner choices across your whole kitchen.
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