Since taking office under President Donald Trump, Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has been aiming to phase out artificial food dyes.
Red 3 is the only one that was restricted or banned back in January (though it may take years to phase out), but the FDA is trying to get manufacturers to voluntarily “ban” many more by the end of 2026.
These dyes sometimes have “FD&C” in front of their names:
- Blue 1
- Blue 2
- Citrus Red 2
- Green 3
- Orange B
- Red 40
- Yellow 5
- Yellow 6
There are usually natural alternatives to these dyes. For example, that “nuclear-looking” yellow in Kraft Macaroni & Cheese used to come from Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. But in 2016, it shifted to natural dyes (e.g. paprika, annatoo, and turmeric).
With that as prelude, here are 10 wildly popular foods and drinks that currently have these artificial dyes.
1. M&M’s
As you might expect given the different colors in M&M’s, it has a whole host of colorings, including:
- Red 40 Lake
- Yellow 6
- Yellow 5
- Blue 2 Lake
- Red 40
- Blue 1 Lake
- Blue 1
- Blue 2
- Yellow 5 Lake
- Yellow 6 Lake
Note that the “Lake” versions are the same dye but are not water-soluble.
2. Froot Loops
Froot Loops (semi-famous for not being able to be advertised as “Fruit Loops”) has four artificial dyes: red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, and yellow 6.
3. Pop Tarts
Pop Tarts vary by flavor. For example, the Frosted Strawberry version has red 40, yellow 6, and blue 1 while the Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon variety doesn’t have any of the artificial dyes in question.
4. Gatorade
As you’d guess, the artificial dyes in Gatorade tend to color coordinate. The Fruit Punch uses FD&C Red 40 and the Lemon-Lime uses FD&C Yellow 5.
5. Doritos
Both the original Nacho Cheese and the Cool Ranch Doritos have artificial dyes. The Nacho Cheese version has Yellow 6, Yellow 5, and Red 40 (makes sense for its signature orange color). The Cool Ranch version has Red 40, Blue 1, and Yellow 5.
6. Twinkies
Twinkies have both Yellow 5 and Red 40 for that signature deep yellow look.
7. V8 Splash
V8 Splash has lots of vegetable juice and fruit juice but also has Red 40 for additional coloring.
8. Apple Jacks
Apple Jacks gets it unique color scheme at least partially from Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Red 40, and Blue 1.
9. Skittles
Like M&M’s, the rainbow of colors in Skittles owes to many artificial dyes:
- Red 40 Lake
- Yellow 5 Lake
- Blue 2 Lake
- Yellow 6 Lake
- Blue 1 Lake
- Yellow 6
- Red 40
- Yellow 5
- Blue 1
10. Little Debbie Swiss Rolls
Little Debbie Swiss Rolls, like every other item in our list contains Red 40.
There you go…10 of our favorite foods and drinks that have artificial dyes. Don’t fret about them leaving shelves or anything like that. The food and drink companies are very adept at swapping out natural ingredients. See that Kraft Mac & Cheese example above…bet you didn’t even realize!
Let us know your favorite item above in the comments. It’s the M&M’s, isn’t it? Peanut?
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