yellow 6
Yellow 6 is a synthetic azo dye with no nutritional role in pet food. Why it is there, and how Bowlmark scores artificial colors.
Also appears on labels as: yellow no. 6 · fd&c yellow no. 6 · fd&c yellow 6 · sunset yellow fcf · e110
What it is
Yellow 6 — sunset yellow FCF, or FD&C Yellow No. 6 — is a synthetic azo dye closely related to Yellow 5. Like every color additive, 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 shopper: dyes make kibble pieces read as golden, meaty, or varied on the shelf. Advocacy and regulatory reviews keep synthetic dyes under scrutiny, and there is no nutritional 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.
Foods that list yellow 6
Ranked by score where scores exist. Placement here is never sold.
- Friskies Indoor Delights Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Chicken, Salmon, Peas & Carrots60
- Meow Mix Original Choice59
- Old Quarry Hearty Beef Flavor Dinner59
- Pedigree Small Dog Adult Dry Food, Grilled Steak and Vegetable58
- Purina Dog Chow Complete Adult Chicken Flavor56
- Pedigree With TENDER BITES™ for Small Dogs Complete Nutrition Adult Dry Dog Food Chicken & Steak Flavor55
- Kibbles 'n Bits Original Savory Beef & Chicken Flavors54
- Mousetail Morsels Ocean Whitefish Crunchers49
Compare foods that list yellow 6
Same species, same form, both scored — closest scores first, so the comparison is a real one.
- Friskies Indoor Delights Dry Cat Food With Flavors of Chicken, Salmon, Peas & Carrots vs Meow Mix Original Choice
- Kibbles 'n Bits Original Savory Beef & Chicken Flavors vs Pedigree With TENDER BITES™ for Small Dogs Complete Nutrition Adult Dry Dog Food Chicken & Steak Flavor
- Pedigree With TENDER BITES™ for Small Dogs Complete Nutrition Adult Dry Dog Food Chicken & Steak Flavor vs Purina Dog Chow Complete Adult Chicken Flavor
- Kibbles 'n Bits Original Savory Beef & Chicken Flavors vs Purina Dog Chow Complete Adult Chicken Flavor
Sources
Related ingredients
Further reading
Cite this page
Bowlmark. "Yellow 6 in pet food — what it is and how it scores." https://www.bowlmark.com/ingredient/yellow-6
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