Every color added to a food goes in the ingredient list, and how it's named depends on the kind. Certified colors, the synthetic dyes FDA batch-certifies, are listed by their name, without "FD&C" or "No.": "Red 40", "Blue 1", "Yellow 5"; a lake, the insoluble form used in coatings, says so: "Red 40 Lake". Colors exempt from certification, from sources like beets, paprika or spirulina, can be listed as "Artificial Color", "Color Added", or by name: "Colored with beet juice" or "paprika color". Butter, cheese and ice cream don't have to list their colors, unless a color's own rule requires it. In the example below, a Delaware candy apple maker writes its ingredient lists.
The short version
- Every added color goes in the ingredient list.
- Certified colors by name: Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow 5.
- Drop "FD&C" and "No." if you like; keep "Lake" for lakes.
- Exempt colors: "Artificial Color", "Color Added", or "Colored with" the source.
- Butter, cheese and ice cream can skip their colors.
- Check each color's own rule for where it may be used.
- TaroStack keeps each recipe with its colors, so a change shows which products it touches. More below.
How to name it
| Color | Kind | In the ingredient list |
|---|---|---|
| FD&C Red No. 40 | Certified | "Red 40" |
| FD&C Blue No. 1 Aluminum Lake | Certified lake | "Blue 1 Lake" |
| FD&C Yellow No. 5 | Certified | "Yellow 5" |
| Beet juice concentrate | Exempt from certification | "Colored with beet juice", or "Color Added" |
| Spirulina extract | Exempt from certification | "Spirulina extract (color)", or "Color Added" |
How allergens and the rest of the list are declared is in food allergen labeling requirements and ingredient list order.
The rules
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Every color | Any added coloring is declared in the statement of ingredients (21 CFR 101.22(k)) |
| Certified colors | By the name in its regulation, without "FD&C" or "No." if preferred; "Lake" included for lakes, such as Blue 1 Lake (101.22(k)(1)) |
| Exempt colors | As "Artificial Color", "Artificial Color Added", "Color Added", or "Colored with " or " color" with the color's name (101.22(k)(2)) |
| Butter, cheese, ice cream | Colors need not be declared unless the color's own regulation requires it (101.22(k)(3)) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: three apples
Brandywine Candy Apple Co., the made-up candy apple maker in Wilmington, Delaware, I use in these examples, sells to a gift shop that asked for a full ingredient list for each apple:
| Apple | Color used | In the ingredient list |
|---|---|---|
| Classic red candy apple | FD&C Red No. 40 in the candy coating | "Sugar, corn syrup, water, Red 40, cinnamon oil" |
| Blue raspberry candy apple | FD&C Blue No. 1 | "... Blue 1, natural and artificial flavor" |
| Caramel apple with sprinkles | Sprinkles colored with Yellow 5 Lake and Red 40 Lake | "Sprinkles (sugar, cornstarch, ... Yellow 5 Lake, Red 40 Lake ...)" |
| Pink "beet" candy apple, new | Beet juice concentrate | "... colored with beet juice" |
The sprinkles come from a supplier, so their colors are copied from the supplier's ingredient list into the apple's as sub-ingredients. The new pink apple, colored with beet juice, says so by name, which the shop prefers to "Color Added". What the apples sell for is in how to price candy apples.
Get the checker
Download the color labeling checker. One sheet: each color, whether it's certified, whether it's a lake, and the color's short name or source; the way to list it fills in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The checker names each color. When a supplier changes the sprinkles' colors, the apple's ingredient list changes too, and nothing tells you unless the recipe knows which supplier's sprinkles it uses.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each candy apple as a recipe and each batch as a lot, so what's in a package, and who got it, is on record.
Recipes by weight. Each candy apple is a recipe with its ingredients, so a change to one shows which products it touches.
Batches by lot. Each batch records the recipe and ingredient lots it used, and lot labels print for the cases.
Recalls. If a batch went out with the wrong label, one report shows every customer who got it.
| The job | Notebook | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which products use an ingredient | Searched by hand | The recipes that use it |
| Which batch a package came from | Written on it | The lot on its label |
| Who got a mislabeled batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Recipes, batches, lots and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.