Almost one-fifth of US packaged F&B contain synthetic dyes, flags new research

New research reveals that 19% of packaged F&B drinks on US shelves contain synthetic dyes. Across all products, synthetic dyes were most commonly seen in sports drinks, beverage concentrates, and confectionery, while carbonated beverages contributed the largest proportion of purchased products containing synthetic dyes.

Food Ingredients First looks at the research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and speaks to lead author Dr. Elizabeth Dunford, Research Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health.

The content of 39,763 American grocery store products was evaluated as part of the research — and the findings show the widespread prevalence of synthetic dyes in US foods and beverages, especially those marketed to children, according to Dr. Dunford. 

Food colors are an additive class to increase visual attractiveness or to compensate for natural variations in product color. 

“It is certainly a large proportion of products (19%), and this is particularly seen when we restricted the analysis to products in the top five categories marketed to children, showing a much larger proportion (28%) compared to all other products (11%).”

“One thing that did surprise me though was the presence of these dyes in products where even I was not expecting to see them, such as plain hot dog buns, taco shells, bagels and waffles. I think the average consumer would guess that brightly colored products such as Gatorade or soft drinks contain dyes, but not more savory-based products.” 

Assessing dyes in the diet

The research team assessed ingredient data for packaged foods and beverages produced by the top 25 US food manufacturers. 

They included sales data in the analysis of synthetic dye exposure, which could help to inform regulatory policies in this area. 

Although certain food categories may contain more products with synthetic dyes, it is also important to consider what foods consumers are buying, as even food categories with smaller proportions of synthetic dyes may be purchased and consumed in significant amounts and thus contribute more to overall dietary intake of dyes, flags Dr. Dunford. 

The most common dye was Red 40, which was present in 14% of all products. 

She was driven to carry out the research by both personal and professional curiosity. 

“I am a mom of two young kids and definitely notice behavioral changes (in my son in particular) after eating or drinking sugary products colored with synthetic dyes. But also my main professional research area is examining the healthiness of food supplies, with a specific interest in nutrient profiling and the use of food additives.”

“Those two things meshed together nicely to lead to this research. Although I started working on this research project prior to the current administration coming into office, it was also quite timely that RFK Jr. himself is very passionate about removing synthetic dyes from the US food and beverage supply.” 

Red dye No.3 will no longer be allowed in US food or ingested drugs from January 15, 2027, which gives manufacturers time to reformulate recipes.

Red dye No.3

Dr. Dunford welcomes the recent FDA ban on Red dye No.3, which has historically been used across multiple F&B applications to give a cherry red color. However, its use was connected with health concerns for decades, culminating in Robert F. Kennedy Jr. targeting the prohibition as part of his “Make America Health Again” campaign. 

The synthetic color additive will no longer be allowed in US food or ingested drugs from January 15, 2027, which gives manufacturers time to reformulate recipes to ditch the controversial ingredient. 

The FDA also has wider plans to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the US food supply. 

“I think it’s [Red dye No 3. ban] is wonderful, of course, but I would love to see a ban on the remaining prolific dyes, such as Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Blue 1,” continues Dr. Dunford. 

Despite some instances of reformulation to eliminate synthetic and petroleum-based dyes such as recent announcements from Kraft Heinz and General Mills, she believes food companies and brands in general do not voluntarily do enough, and regulation is a necessary step.

“Sadly, government intervention is likely the only way to ensure these dyes are not used now, or in future, by manufacturers. Many large companies have made previous commitments to remove synthetic dyes from their products but, well, let’s just say those companies did not follow through in the past.”

“It is good to see Kraft announce they will remove dyes from beverage powders and jello, and General Mills to remove them from breakfast cereals sold in schools. But that’s not far enough.”

“There needs to be a level playing field, and all companies should remove these dyes from all products so that there is no temptation to use them to make their products more visually appealing than their neighbors on the grocery store shelves.” 

“I plan to keep researching this area and hopefully, in future, research can delve deeper into specific categories that have a lot of products with dyes, really shining a light on specific large selling products that are likely contributing more to intake of these dyes.” 

High sugar content

Dr. Dunford also notes that products containing synthetic dyes also had a much higher average total sugar content compared to products without synthetic dyes, suggesting that companies are using synthetic food dyes to market sweet foods and beverages.

Products in the top five food categories most often marketed to children – confectionery, sugar-sweetened beverages, ready meals, breakfast cereals, and baked goods like cakes, cookies, and pastries — were more likely to contain synthetic dyes.

The average sugar content of products containing synthetic dyes was 141% more than in those without the dyes (33.3g/100g versus 13.8g/100g).