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Ingredient file // Other

Yellow 5

A cheap yellow color with no nutrition job

Yellow 5, also called tartrazine, is a synthetic dye that gives pet food a repeatable yellow shade. It adds no useful nutrition or flavor. A small dog study and a broader feed safety review offer reassurance at coloring amounts, but neither rules out every individual reaction.

What it is
A certified synthetic dye added to food to produce or restore a yellow color.
Made from
Chemically synthesized dye compounds
Main job
Colors the food yellow
Typical amount
Reported up to 257 mg/kg dry food
Watch for
Possible individual reactions, untested in dogs
Not the same as
Yellow 6

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 65 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

2%

40 of the 2,595 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 4 brands. 39 dry dog food, 1 wet dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 25.5. In the top five of 0 foods, so it is usually a minor ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

0%

Usually listed after the salt, which caps it at roughly 1% of the recipe in 100% of foods.

Price per lb

Foods with it $0.91
All foods $3.23

Median of the cheapest bag price across 34 priced foods, 72% below the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.

Who leans on it

38%

of the foods that list it are from Pedigree. 4 brands use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Chemical manufacturers make tartrazine for use as a color additive. Pet food makers buy the purified dye because small additions produce a repeatable shade, even when the ingredients beneath it vary in color.1,2,3

  1. 01 // Source Starting chemicals Production starts with aminobenzenesulfonic acid and another compound that contributes to the dye structure.
  2. 02 // Process Form the dye The starting compounds react to form tartrazine, a water soluble yellow dye.
  3. 03 // Process Purify and certify The dye is isolated as a sodium salt. FDA tests each batch before certifying it for use.
  4. 04 // Output Yellow dye powder The certified powder reaches food makers for mixing directly into feed or adding as a water solution.

What is in it

Composition, as fed

88-89

% color

Total coloring matter in five tested batches of powder. A small addition changes appearance without supplying useful nutrients.

Total coloring matter 88.2-89.2%1
Subsidiary coloring matter 0-0.1%1
Other organic compounds 0-0.5%1

The first row is a measured range; the other rows are reported upper limits. Moisture and salts were not reported separately, so these powder figures cannot be converted reliably to a dry matter basis.1

Why it is in the bag

What the manufacturer gets

  1. 01

    Gives a repeatable shade

    In a manufacturer submitted biscuit test, added tartrazine changed measured color. It lets a food maker adjust appearance without changing the main recipe.1

  2. 02

    Keeps color inexpensive

    FDA says certified synthetic colors give intense, uniform color and cost less than colors from other sources. Appearance is the reason to buy it.3

  3. 03

    Blends with other colors

    FDA says certified colors blend readily to create other hues. Yellow 5 gives a manufacturer another way to adjust a food's appearance.3

How much Pet food manufacturers reported use up to 257 mg/kg of dry dog food in data submitted to EFSA.1

Our read // The claims

What the evidence supports

Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.

  1. Brands say

    Yellow 5 makes pet food visibly yellower

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    A manufacturer submitted test added tartrazine to pet biscuits at 0, 50 and 500 mg/kg and measured stronger yellow color. It showed an appearance change in biscuits, not a benefit to dogs.1

  2. Brands say

    Yellow 5 is safe at normal dog food amounts

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    EFSA considered 520 mg/kg of complete dog food safe. Its assessment relied mainly on laboratory animal data because the 2-year dog study had only 12 beagles and uncertain findings at the highest dose.1

  3. Critics say

    Yellow 5 triggers allergic reactions in dogs

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    EFSA reviewed reactions in guinea pigs and people, including skin test findings. The 12-dog feeding study was too small to test rare reactions, so Yellow 5 is not a proven dog food allergen.1

  4. Critics say

    Yellow 5 makes dogs hyperactive

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    EFSA discussed human research and found too little evidence to link certain additives, including tartrazine, to hyperactivity in children. Its dog feeding study did not measure behavior. The dog claim has no direct support.1

  5. Critics say

    Yellow 5 causes cancer in dogs

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    EFSA found no carcinogenicity signal in long-term laboratory animal studies and explicitly concluded that tartrazine was not carcinogenic. The 12-dog study was too small to settle a rare cancer risk by itself.1

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is it just filler?

    No

    It has a specific job: changing the food's color. It supplies no useful nutrition, so there is no dietary reason to seek it out. Its presence says little about the recipe around it.1,2

  2. Q02

    Does the label show the dose?

    No

    The ingredient list names what went into the food and orders ingredients by weight. It does not give a Yellow 5 concentration. The manufacturer data reviewed by EFSA describe reported use, not the amount in your bag.1,4

  3. Q03

    Is Yellow 5 Yellow 6?

    No

    FDA identifies Yellow 5 as tartrazine and Yellow 6 as a separate color. A bag listing Yellow 5 does not tell you Yellow 6 is present; read each color named in the ingredient list.3,4

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Pedigree 15
  2. Kibbles n Bits 11
  3. Purina 11
  4. Cesar 3

Amazon best sellers that list it

  1. #12 Pedigree Adult Grilled Steak & Vegetable Flavor Dry Dog Food
  2. #22 Cesar Filet Mignon Flavor & Spring Vegetables Garnish Dry Dog Food
  3. #41 Pedigree Small Dog Grilled Steak and Vegetable Flavor Dry Dog Food
  4. #55 Kibbles n Bits Small Breed Mini Bits Savory Beef & Chicken Flavors Dry Dog Food
  5. #59 Kibbles n Bits Original Savory Beef & Chicken Flavors Dry Dog Food
  6. #73 Pedigree Puppy Chicken & Vegetable Flavor Dry Dog Food

Rank on Amazon's dog food best seller list, checked October 2026.

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Soybean Meal 95%
  2. Animal Fat 73%
  3. Natural Flavor 60%
  4. Meat and Bone Meal 53%
  5. Corn Gluten Meal 53%
  6. Chicken By-Product Meal 43%
  7. Whole Grain Ground Corn 33%
  8. Salt 30%
  9. Corn Syrup 30%
  10. Brewers Rice 28%
  11. Wheat Middlings 28%
  12. Whole Grain Corn 25%

Our read // On the bag

Read the recipe past the color

Yellow 5 low on a bag's list is there to change how the food looks. It adds no useful nutrition, and its presence alone does not show that the food is unsafe. Check the named protein sources, nutrition statement and other ingredients. Choose an otherwise suitable food without dye if you prefer.

Sources

What we read

Checked September 1, 2026.

  1. 1 Safety and efficacy of tartrazine (E 102) for cats and dogs, ornamental fish, grain-eating ornamental birds and small rodents EFSA Journal, 2016 // Journal
  2. 2 21 CFR § 74.705 FD&C Yellow No. 5 Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2026 // Regulator
  3. 3 Color Additives in Foods U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2024 // Government
  4. 4 Animal Food Labeling and Pet Food Claims U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2026 // Government
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

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