Artificial and caramel colours: check names and rules
Prepared by TengRip · Sources checked: 2026-10-14
Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2, Red 3 and caramel colour are easy to confuse. Preserve the exact label before checking use, market and current rules.
Other common names: 人工色素與焦糖色素：怎麼查名稱與規範, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 2, Red 3, caramel color
Names and function
FDA’s animal-food guide distinguishes certified colours from certification-exempt types. Certified colours require names, while some exempt types may use a collective term. Ask the manufacturer when that term lacks detail.
What the label can and cannot show
Do not interchange numbers, local names and E codes because they look similar. Keep the original wording and package photo, then identify the ingredient; a name alone is not a feline toxicity classification.
A practical checking process
Rules change. FDA’s Red No. 3 page records revocation and transition dates. Old permitted claims may be outdated, and U.S. rules are not worldwide bans. Record the market, product type and notice date.
Individual and evidence limits
If avoiding colours, compare otherwise appropriate diets. Colour says nothing about completeness or manufacturing quality. Clinical signs need a whole-diet review, not a feline diagnosis extrapolated from human or laboratory-animal findings.
Sources
For reference only, not medical advice. If poisoning is suspected, seek veterinary care immediately.
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