Artificial Colors hides under 24 different names on food labels. Synthetic food dyes linked to hyperactivity in children and banned or restricted in many countries. We found it in 42 products in our database.
24
Hidden Names
42
Products Found
29
Avg Score
All 24 Hidden Names for Artificial Colors
If you see ANY of these on a food label, the product contains Artificial Colors:
red 40red 3yellow 5yellow 6blue 1blue 2green 3allura rederythrosinetartrazinesunset yellowbrilliant blueindigotinefast greenFD&C red no. 40FD&C yellow no. 5FD&C yellow no. 6FD&C blue no. 1FD&C blue no. 2FD&C red no. 3FD&C green no. 3lakecolor addedartificial color
🔍 How to Spot It
Look for 'FD&C' followed by a color and number, or just a color and number (e.g., Red 40). The word 'lake' after a dye name means it's a water-insoluble form. 'Color added' is a vague term that usually means artificial dyes.
⚠️ Health Note
The EU requires warning labels on products with these dyes. Several are banned in other countries. Red 3 was banned by the FDA in 2025.
Real Label Examples
Here's how Artificial Colors appears in actual product ingredient lists (highlighted in yellow):
Trail Mixby Kirkland peanuts roasted in peanut oil and salt, m&m's milk chocolate candies: milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, skim milk, cocoa butter, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, salt, artificial flavors), sugar, cornstarch, less than 1% of: corn syrup, dextrin, coloring (blue 1 lake, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue...
Trail Mix Snack Packsby Kirkland,Kirkland Signature,M&M's Peanuts roasted in peanut oil and salt, milk chocolate (sugar, chocolate, skim milk, cocoa butter, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, salt, artificial flavors), sugar, cornstarch, less than 1% - corn syrup, dextrin, coloring (includes blue 1 lake, yellow 6, red 40, yellow 5, blue 1, yellow 6 lake, red ...
Artificial Colors can appear on food labels under 24 different names including: red 40, red 3, yellow 5, yellow 6, blue 1, blue 2, and 18 more.
How many products contain Artificial Colors?
In our database of 26,000+ grocery products, we found 42 products containing Artificial Colors or one of its aliases.
How can I avoid Artificial Colors in food?
Look for 'FD&C' followed by a color and number, or just a color and number (e.g., Red 40). The word 'lake' after a dye name means it's a water-insoluble form. 'Color added' is a vague term that usually means artificial dyes. The easiest way is to use the CheckIt AI app to scan any product — it automatically detects all 24 hidden names.
Is Artificial Colors dangerous?
The EU requires warning labels on products with these dyes. Several are banned in other countries. Red 3 was banned by the FDA in 2025.
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📋 Cite This Data
APACheckIt AI. (2026). "24 Hidden Names for Artificial Colors — How to Spot It on Labels | CheckIt AI". Climaverse PBC. Retrieved from https://getcheck.it/hidden-names/artificial-colors
MLA"24 Hidden Names for Artificial Colors — How to Spot It on Labels | CheckIt AI." CheckIt AI, Climaverse PBC, 2026-03-05. https://getcheck.it/hidden-names/artificial-colors.
HTML Embed<a href="https://getcheck.it/hidden-names/artificial-colors">24 Hidden Names for Artificial Colors — How to Spot It on Labels | CheckIt AI — CheckIt AI</a>
BibTeX@misc{checkit2026hiddennamesartificialcolors,
title = {24 Hidden Names for Artificial Colors — How to Spot It on Labels | CheckIt AI},
author = {CheckIt AI},
year = {2026},
publisher = {Climaverse PBC},
url = {https://getcheck.it/hidden-names/artificial-colors},
note = {Retrieved 2026-03-05}
}
