Yellow 6, officially called FD&C Yellow No. 6, is a synthetic food dye made from petroleum-derived chemicals that gives foods and drinks a bright orange-yellow color. It’s one of the most widely used artificial colors in the food supply, showing up in snacks, drinks, candies, baked goods, and even some unexpected products like smoked fish and sausage casings. In early 2025, the FDA announced plans to phase Yellow 6 out of the U.S. food supply by the end of 2026, asking manufacturers to switch to natural alternatives as they already do in Europe and Canada.
How Yellow 6 Is Made
Yellow 6 is a synthetic azo dye, meaning its color comes from a specific chemical bond between nitrogen atoms. Its formal chemical name is disodium 2-hydroxy-1-(4-sulfonatophenylazo)naphthalene-6-sulfonate. In the European Union, it goes by Sunset Yellow FCF or E 110.
The dye is manufactured through a multi-step chemical process. Sulfuric or hydrochloric acid and sodium nitrite are used to convert one petroleum-based starting material into a reactive form, which is then combined with a second compound to produce the final orange-yellow pigment. The raw ingredients are derived from petrochemicals, not from any plant or animal source. This petroleum origin is the central reason regulators and consumer advocates have pushed for its removal from food.
Where You’ll Find It
Yellow 6 appears in a surprisingly wide range of products. The most obvious ones are brightly colored snacks, sodas, candy, and flavored drinks. Cheese-flavored corn snacks, sherbet, ice cream mixes, flavored milks, and concentrated fruit juices commonly contain it. But it also turns up in less expected places: bread, butter, icing sugar, pickles, relishes, ketchup, sausage casings, smoked fish, and even lumpfish caviar. Essentially, any packaged food that needs an orange, sunset, or warm yellow tone is a candidate.
If a product contains Yellow 6 in the United States, it will appear on the ingredient label as “FD&C Yellow No. 6,” “Yellow 6,” or sometimes “Sunset Yellow.” Checking ingredient lists is the most reliable way to identify it, since the same type of product (say, a cheese-flavored chip) may contain it from one brand but not another.
Links to Hyperactivity in Children
The most influential study on Yellow 6 and behavior was a 2007 trial published in The Lancet, often called the Southampton study. Researchers gave 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children drinks containing mixes of artificial food colors (including Yellow 6) and a preservative, then compared their behavior to children who received a placebo drink. Parents, teachers, and trained observers all rated the children’s hyperactivity levels.
The results showed a clear pattern. Three-year-olds who drank one of the dye mixes were measurably more hyperactive than those on placebo, with an effect size of 0.20. When the analysis was limited to children who actually drank most of the juice, the effect nearly doubled to 0.32. Among 8/9-year-olds who consumed at least 85% of their drinks, both dye mixes produced significantly increased hyperactivity, with effect sizes of 0.12 and 0.17. The study’s conclusion was direct: artificial colors or a sodium benzoate preservative, or both, increase hyperactivity in children in the general population, not just in children already diagnosed with ADHD.
This study was a major driver behind the European Union’s decision to require warning labels on foods containing Yellow 6 and other synthetic dyes. Many European manufacturers reformulated their products with natural colors rather than carry the warning.
Allergic and Sensitivity Reactions
Some people experience hypersensitivity reactions to Yellow 6 that mirror aspirin sensitivity. The most common reaction is chronic hives, but the full range of reported symptoms includes itching, skin redness, swelling of the lips and face, nasal congestion, asthma symptoms like chest tightness and shortness of breath, abdominal pain, severe cramps, and fatigue. In rare cases, a condition called oro-facial granulomatosis has been linked to the dye, involving persistent swelling of the lips and face with vertical lip fissures.
People who are sensitive to aspirin are more likely to react to Yellow 6, since both substances trigger the same type of immune response. If you’ve noticed unexplained hives, digestive discomfort, or breathing issues that seem to come and go with certain foods, Yellow 6 is worth investigating as a possible trigger.
Safety Limits and Contaminant Concerns
Regulatory bodies set an Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for Yellow 6, which is the amount considered safe to consume every day over a lifetime. The current ADI, established jointly by the World Health Organization’s expert committee and the European Food Safety Authority, is 4 mg per kilogram of body weight per day. For a 150-pound adult, that works out to about 272 mg daily. The limit was originally set at 2.5 mg/kg but was temporarily lowered to 1 mg/kg in 2009 after studies raised concerns about possible effects on male reproductive organs in rats. After further review, it was raised to its current level in 2014.
One lesser-known concern involves contaminants in the dye itself. The manufacturing process can produce trace amounts of benzidine, a known human carcinogen. U.S. federal regulations cap benzidine contamination at no more than 1 part per billion in finished Yellow 6 dye. This is an extremely small amount, but the fact that a carcinogen tolerance exists at all has fueled criticism from consumer safety groups.
The U.S. Phase-Out
In 2025, the FDA announced it would work with industry to eliminate Yellow 6 and five other petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the American food supply by the end of 2026. The agency explicitly noted that food companies already use natural substitutes in products sold in Europe and Canada, framing the change as an alignment with international standards rather than a radical shift.
For manufacturers, the transition means turning to plant-derived colorants. Paprika extract produces bold orange shades similar to Yellow 6, while annatto extract delivers a more golden-orange hue. For yellow tones, turmeric provides the brightest color and holds up well to heat, though it fades under light, making it less ideal for products in clear packaging. Beta-carotene, the pigment naturally found in carrots and sweet potatoes, offers good stability in both heat and light and produces a vibrant golden yellow.
For consumers, the practical effect will be gradual. Products will be reformulated over time, and you may notice slight color differences in familiar snacks and drinks as natural pigments replace synthetic ones. The ingredient list remains your best tool for tracking which products have made the switch.