yellow 5
Yellow 5 (tartrazine) is a synthetic dye with zero nutritional role in pet food. Why it is there, and how Bowlmark scores artificial colors.
Also appears on labels as: yellow no. 5 · fd&c yellow no. 5 · fd&c yellow 5 · tartrazine · e102
What it is
Yellow 5 — tartrazine, or FD&C Yellow No. 5 — is a synthetic azo dye. It has no nutritional function; its entire job is to change how the food looks.
Why it's in pet food
Color is for the person pouring the bowl. Pets do not choose food by color, but shoppers do — dyes make kibble look meatier or more varied on the shelf. Advocacy and regulatory reviews of synthetic dyes keep the class under scrutiny, and there is no upside to offset the questions.
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.
Common questions
Answers come from this entry and the scoring rules above — reviewed before publish, like everything else on this page. For anything about your own pet, your vet knows best.
Is Yellow 5 bad for dogs?
Yellow 5 — tartrazine — has no nutritional function; its entire job is to change how the food looks. Advocacy and regulatory reviews of synthetic dyes keep the class under scrutiny, and there is no upside to offset the questions — which is why Bowlmark deducts for every artificial dye on a label.
Why is Yellow 5 in pet food?
Color is for the person pouring the bowl. Pets do not choose food by color, but shoppers do — dyes make kibble look meatier or more varied on the shelf.
How does Bowlmark score Yellow 5?
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 yellow 5
Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.
- Meadow Farms Chicken & Brown Rice Adult90
- Purina Cat Chow Indoor Hairball + Healthy Weight65
- Tabby Republic Crunchy Dinners Chicken Flavor65
- Fancy Feast With Savory Chicken & Turkey61
- Purina Cat Chow Complete61
- Purina Cat Chow Complete with Salmon61
- Friskies Indoor Delights Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Chicken, Salmon, Peas & Carrots60
- Meow Mix Original Choice59
Compare foods that list yellow 5
Same species, same form, both scored — closest scores first, so the comparison is a real one.
- Fancy Feast With Savory Chicken & Turkey vs Purina Cat Chow Complete
- Fancy Feast With Savory Chicken & Turkey vs Purina Cat Chow Complete with Salmon
- Purina Cat Chow Complete vs Purina Cat Chow Complete with Salmon
- Fancy Feast With Savory Chicken & Turkey vs Friskies Indoor Delights Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Chicken, Salmon, Peas & Carrots
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Yellow 5 in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/yellow-5
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