FDA Announces Gatorade Recall of 122K Cases Over Undeclared Dyes
PepsiCo is recalling 122,021 cases of Gatorade because the sports drinks contain yellow food dyes that aren't listed on their labels, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Gatorade recall covers 28-ounce bottles of Gatorade Lemon Lime, Gatorade Lemon Lime Zero, Gatorade Orange, and Gatorade Orange Zero distributed across 37 states.
According to the FDA's recall notice, the affected bottles contain undeclared food dyes Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, or both, even though neither appears on the ingredient list. PepsiCo voluntarily started the recall on September 25, and the FDA classified it on October 2. The recall is still ongoing.
The recalled drinks were shipped to Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.
The FDA gave the action a Class II recall designation. That means drinking the product may cause temporary or medically reversible health effects, while the chance of serious harm is considered remote. It's a step below a Class I recall, which the agency reserves for cases with a reasonable probability of serious injury or death.
So why does a missing dye on a label matter? Yellow No. 5, also known as tartrazine, and Yellow No. 6, also called Sunset Yellow FCF, are synthetic color additives that give foods and drinks their bright yellow and orange shades. Both are approved for use in the U.S., but federal rules require them to be named on labels so people who react to them can avoid them. Yellow No. 5 in particular can trigger hives or itching in a small number of sensitive people.
Shoppers may not have heard about this one yet. The FDA's enforcement report notes that no press release was issued for the recall, so the main way to check a bottle is to compare its lot number against the list in the recall notice. Anyone with a known sensitivity to yellow dyes should skip any matching bottles.
PepsiCo has been working to strip synthetic colors out of Gatorade, and the company previously said the lemon lime, orange, and fruit punch flavors of Gatorade Thirst Quencher and Gatorade Zero would switch to plant-based colors by fall 2026. That effort is part of PepsiCo's broader plan to remove artificial dyes from their U.S. lineup by the end of 2027.
The push follows growing federal pressure on the food industry. In April 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA announced plans to work with manufacturers to phase out petroleum-based dyes still common in the U.S. food supply, including Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6.
Consumer are advised to check the lot numbers before drinking their recently bought 28-ounce bottles of Lemon Lime or Orange Gatorade, regular or Zero.
For more articles like this, visit our Lifestyle News Page!