Vegetable Juice for Color

No. Color makes no difference to cats; it is added to make the food look more appealing to the human eye.

Vegetable juice for color is juice pressed from edible vegetables, or made by soaking dried vegetables in water, and used as a coloring. FDA lists vegetable juice among color additives exempt from certification and allows it in foods generally. The small amounts used add little beyond color. If your cat has a medical condition, ask your veterinarian about its food.

Source: govinfo.gov

It is used to tint food red, orange or brown so it looks more appetizing to the person serving it. Makers choose vegetable juice when they want to avoid synthetic dyes. The cat does not need the color. The amount used is small and adds little nutrition.

Common choices are beets for red and carrots for orange, though the label usually just says vegetable juice. FDA defines this color additive as juice from mature, fresh, edible vegetables, or a water infusion of dried vegetables, which may be concentrated or dried. The label does not have to name the specific vegetables.

Source: govinfo.gov

In most cases, yes. AAFCO's definition of natural covers plant ingredients that are only physically processed, extracted or concentrated, without a chemically synthetic process. Pressed or concentrated vegetable juice fits that description. FDA also groups it with colors exempt from certification, separate from FD&C dyes like Red 40.

Source: aafco.org

Pettings gives vegetable juice for color 3 out of 5 and lists it as a natural color. It appears on 10 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. It scores higher than synthetic dyes because it comes from vegetables and no harm to cats is known. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.