blue 1
Blue 1 (brilliant blue) is a synthetic dye used to tint pet food pieces. Why it is there, and how Bowlmark scores artificial colors.
Also appears on labels as: blue no. 1 · fd&c blue no. 1 · fd&c blue 1 · brilliant blue fcf · e133
What it is
Blue 1 — brilliant blue FCF, or FD&C Blue No. 1 — is a synthetic dye. In pet food it usually appears alongside red and yellow dyes, blended to produce greens and multi-colored pieces.
Why it's in pet food
Multi-colored kibble is a shelf strategy: the mix suggests vegetables and variety to the person buying the bag. The pet tastes no difference, and no nutritional purpose is served.
How Bowlmark scores it
Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.
The additive pillar deducts 12 points per distinct artificial dye on the label — Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40, Red 3, Blue 1, and Blue 2 — capped at 36 points, each shown as a warning flag.
Foods that list blue 1
Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Blue 1 in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/blue-1
- Engine
- Methodology engine v1.1.0 · config 13c99e2f
- Verified
- Last verified August 9, 2026
No stored score to stamp yet — the engine and config above are the ones a scan runs today.