FDA Food Dye Phase-Out Tracker

The FDA is phasing out petroleum-based synthetic food dyes from the US food supply. Red 3 was banned in January 2025; six remaining dyes must be removed by October 2027.

Dyes Being Removed

Company Pledges

79,122

Products Affected

Dye Status

Dye	Status	Deadline	Products
Red 3 FDA revoked authorization. Must be removed from all food products.	Banned	Jan 15, 2025	4,601
Red 40 Most widely used synthetic dye. Found in candy, cereal, beverages.	Phase-out	Oct 2027	21,594
Yellow 5 Also known as Tartrazine. Used in snacks, beverages, cereals.	Phase-out	Oct 2027	18,986
Yellow 6 Also known as Sunset Yellow. Common in baked goods and candy.	Phase-out	Oct 2027	13,559
Blue 1 Also known as Brilliant Blue. Used in beverages, candy, baked goods.	Phase-out	Oct 2027	16,642
Blue 2 Also known as Indigo Carmine. Less common, used in candy and ice cream.	Phase-out	Oct 2027	3,601
Green 3 Also known as Fast Green FCF. Least common of the major dyes.	Phase-out	Oct 2027	139

Company Pledges

9 companies actively removing dyes, 13 have pledged to do so.

Company	Status	Dyes Removing	Target Date
BandG Foods	Pledged	Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6	2027-12-31
Campbells	In Progress	Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6	2027-06-30
Church and Dwight	Pledged	All synthetic dyes	2027-12-31
Coca-Cola	Pledged	Red 40, Yellow 5	2027-12-31
Conagra Brands	Pledged	All synthetic dyes	2027-12-31
Danone North America	In Progress	All synthetic dyes	2026-12-31
General Mills	In Progress	All petroleum-based dyes	2027-06-30
Hershey	In Progress	All synthetic dyes	2026-12-31
Hormel Foods	Pledged	All synthetic dyes	2027-12-31
Kraft Heinz	In Progress	Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1	2026-12-31
Lamb Weston	Pledged	All synthetic dyes	2027-12-31
Mars Inc	Pledged	All synthetic dyes	2027-12-31
McCormick	In Progress	All petroleum-based dyes	2027-06-30
Mondelez	In Progress	Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6	2027-06-30
Nestle USA	In Progress	All synthetic dyes	2027-06-30
PepsiCo	In Progress	All synthetic dyes in Frito-Lay	2027-06-30
Post Consumer Brands	Pledged	Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1	2027-12-31
Smuckers	Pledged	All synthetic dyes	2027-12-31
TreeHouse Foods	Pledged	All synthetic dyes	2027-06-30
Tyson Foods	Pledged	Red 40, Yellow 5	2027-12-31
Unilever	Pledged	All petroleum-based dyes	2027-12-31
WK Kellogg	Pledged	All synthetic dyes in cereals	2027-12-31

Timeline

Jan 2025

Red 3 Banned

FDA revokes authorization for Red 3 (Erythrosine) in all food and ingested drugs.

Jan 2027

California Food Safety Act

AB 418 bans Red 3, Potassium Bromate, Brominated Vegetable Oil, and Propylparaben in California.

Oct 2027

FDA Phase-Out Deadline

All remaining synthetic dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3) must be removed from food products.

Data Sources

Regulatory data from FDA food additive status records and Federal Register notices. Product counts from OpenFoodFacts (ODbL). Company pledges compiled from public corporate announcements and press releases. See our methodology for details.

Compiled by PlainFoodSafe Editorial, Food Product Safety Editorial Team