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Cat Food Ingredient

Yellow 5

Our ingredient score: 0 / 5 · Artificial color · How We Score

Artificial colors are synthetic dyes added for one reason: to make kibble look like meat or vegetable pieces to the person buying it. Cats do not see color the way people do, and the dyes add no nutrition. Because some dyes can contain impurities such as benzidine from manufacturing, the US sets a legal limit on benzidine in Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. The European Union requires a warning label on human foods containing Red 40, Yellow 5 or Yellow 6, citing possible effects on activity and attention in children. Long-term safety studies in cats are almost nonexistent.

Common Questions

Is Yellow 5 bad for cats?

Yellow 5, or FD&C Yellow No. 5, is a synthetic dye also called tartrazine. FDA lists it among color additives that require batch certification for use in food. Long-term studies of Yellow 5 in cats are close to nonexistent, and the dye adds no nutrition. If your cat has a medical condition or reacts to its food, talk with your veterinarian.

Source: ecfr.gov

Why is Yellow 5 in cat food?

Yellow 5 is added for color. Alone it gives a lemon yellow, and mixed with blue or red dyes it helps make green or orange kibble pieces. Those shapes and colors appeal to the buyer, not the cat. The dye contributes nothing to nutrition.

Is Yellow 5 the same as tartrazine?

Yes. FDA's regulation uses both names together: some labeled products must declare it as FD&C Yellow No. 5 and tartrazine. On a US cat food label it may appear as Yellow 5 or Yellow 5 Lake. It is a different dye from Yellow 6, which has its own FDA listing and a different chemical identity.

Source: ecfr.gov

Why does the EU require a warning label for Yellow 5?

The European Union requires human foods containing tartrazine, its name for Yellow 5, to carry a statement that it may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children. That rule followed research in children and applies to human food. It does not cover pet food, and we found no comparable studies in cats. The US does not require that warning.

How does Pettings score Yellow 5?

Pettings gives Yellow 5 0 out of 5 and lists it as an artificial color. It appears on 18 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. Synthetic dyes get our lowest score because they change only how the food looks and add nothing for the cat. Each food's page shows how it scores overall.

How Foods With Yellow 5 Compare

Yellow 5 is on the label of 18 of the 149 dry cat foods we list. Their average Ingredients score is 34 out of 100. The 131 foods without it average 60.

An average describes the foods, not this ingredient alone: one ingredient is only a small part of a food's score.

Top-Ranked Foods Without Yellow 5

  1. Orijen Guardian 8 (91)
  2. Orijen Kitten (91)
  3. Orijen Original Cat (91)
  4. Acana Highest Protein Wild Atlantic (90)
  5. Go! Solutions Carnivore Grain Free Chicken, Turkey + Duck Recipe (90)

Ranked the same way as our best lists: nothing on the Avoid List and a Nutrition score of at least 6/10 first, then by Ingredients score.

Foods With Yellow 5 (18)