On April 22, 2025, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the plan to gradually phase out popular artificial food dyes used in processed foods and drinks. While it’s not an all-out ban, the FDA is asking food and beverage manufacturers to switch to more natural alternatives by the end of 2026.
The list of dyes that may be nixed from foods and drinks is a big lengthy…
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The food dyes the FDA is encouraging manufacturers to voluntarily ban by the end of 2026 include:
- Citrus Red 2
- Orange B
- Red 3
- Red 40
- Yellow 5
- Yellow 6
- Blue 1
- Blue 2
But first, some good news about Culver’s!
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Culver’s has already changed some of their menu items to exclude banned food dyes (many health-conscious people have been opting for dye-free foods long before the FDA’s new guidance). For instance, between 2018 and 2022, Culver’s removed Yellow 5, Red 40, and Blue 1 from the seasoning in their Wisconsin Breaded Cheese Curds!
What did they replace those dyes with, you might be wondering?
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According to the updated ingredient information from 2022, Wisconsin Cheese Curds now contain beet powder, paprika extract, and turmeric extract to replace the artificial food dyes they previously contained.
Now, to the current Culver’s menu items containing food dyes that are now being discouraged by the FDA…
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Culver’s is known for their famous custard. (Fun fact – custard is like ice cream, but with egg yolks in it, which give it a rich, unique flavor!)
The good news is that the custard base itself doesn’t contain banned food dyes. However, many of the mix-ins for custard and shakes do have food dyes.
These mix-ins account for the majority of the menu items with food dyes. The list is quite hefty…
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Here are all of the custard toppings and mix-ins containing banned food dyes:
- Blue Sprinkles (Blue 1)
- Butterscotch Topping (Yellow 5 and Yellow 6)
- Chocolate Flavored Syrup (Red 40 and Blue 2)
- French Bavarian Cream Filling (Yellow 5, Yellow 6)
- Maraschino Cherry (Red 40)
- Mint Syrup (Yellow 5, Blue 1)
- Wild Cherry Topping (Red 40)
Some popular candies Culver’s offers as toppings have the newly-banned dyes as well…
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Here are some mix-in candies with hidden food dyes on Culver’s menu:
- Andes Creme De Menthe Thins (Yellow 5, Blue 1)
- Mini M&Ms (Yellow #5, Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Blue 2, Yellow 5, Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 6, Blue 2)
- Reese’s Pieces Minis (Yellow 5 Lake, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 1)
Custard isn’t the only food with added food dyes, though…
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Culver’s offers a few salads on its food menu, and several salad dressing choices to go with them. Thankfully, only one of Culver’s salad dressing options contains food dye:
- Ken’s ® Raspberry Vinaigrette (Red 40, Blue 1)
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Most of Culver’s food menu items (sides, entrees, etc.) are free of the newly-banned food dyes. (And that now includes the cheese curds, as mentioned earlier!)
There are a couple of exceptions, though:
- Dill pickles (Yellow 5)
- George’s Chili (Yellow 5 in the seasoning)
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Certain fountain drinks at Culver’s contain added food dyes. The drinks on Culver’s menu that contain banned food dyes include:
- Fanta (Red 40 and Yellow 6)
- Mountain Dew (Yellow 5)
- Root beer, regular and diet (Red 40)
- Tropicana Light Lemonade (Yellow 5)
- Tropicana Pink Lemonade (Red 40)
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To wrap it up, the menu items from Culver’s containing banned food dyes are:
- Several custard toppings and mix-ins
- Salad dressing (Ken’s ® Raspberry Vinaigrette)
- Dill pickles
- George’s Chili
- Several fountain drinks
Which leads to my closing question…
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Did any of these surprise you? (I know I was a bit surprised at the dill pickles having food dye!)
Let me know in the comments!
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