In-N-Out Is on the FDA Dye Tracker: What Changed

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2026. On September 10, 2026, the U.S. FDA updated its food dye pledge tracker, confirming brands like In-N-Out Burger have fully removed petroleum-derived Red 40. While the FDA and HHS encourage a voluntary industry phaseout of six synthetic dyes by late 2027, mandatory state school bans take effect the same year.

Key takeaways

• Federal tracker update: On September 10, 2026, the FDA confirmed that In-N-Out Burger completed the removal of certified synthetic colors from its Strawberry Shakes and Signature Pink Lemonade, replacing Red 40 with beta carotene and vegetable juice.
• Voluntary 2027 target: The FDA and HHS are collaborating with food manufacturers to voluntarily phase out the six remaining certified petroleum dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3) by late 2027.
• Mandatory regulatory deadlines: Red 3 authorization was revoked on January 15, 2025, with an enforceable food compliance deadline of January 15, 2027, alongside the finalized revocation of Orange B and proposed revocation of Citrus Red 2.
• State legislative pressure: California Assembly Bill 2316 prohibits Red 40 and other synthetic dyes in public school foods starting in late 2027, accelerating nationwide supply chain reformulations.
• Reading labels remains essential: Because the federal end-of-2027 initiative for Red 40 is voluntary, many packaged goods, including sodas, candies, and condiments, still contain certified artificial colors.

What happened

On September 10, 2026, the FDA updated its public dashboard titled "Tracking Food Industry Pledges to Remove Petroleum Based Food Dyes" on fda.gov. The updated tracker officially designated regional restaurant chain In-N-Out Burger as "Complete" for its pledge to eliminate certified color additives from its Strawberry Shakes and Signature Pink Lemonade.

This update followed the company's initial announcement in May 2025, where In-N-Out stated: "As part of our ongoing commitment to providing our customers with the highest-quality ingredients, we have removed artificial coloring from our Strawberry Shakes and Signature Pink Lemonade. We're also in the process of transitioning to an upgraded ketchup, which is made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup."

According to reporting from ABC News, KTLA, and Nation's Restaurant News, the specific artificial color removed from these beverage formulations was FD&C Red No. 40, chemically identified as Allura Red AC in the PubChem Compound database. In-N-Out replaced the synthetic colorant with color additives derived from vegetable juice and beta carotene. As of September 13, 2026, the FDA tracker highlights this milestone as part of a broader federal push to document food industry movement toward naturally derived coloring alternatives.

What changed in federal policy and state laws?

The landscape for synthetic food dyes in the United States involves a combination of voluntary industry commitments, finalized administrative rules, and emerging state statutes. On its tracking portal, the FDA confirmed that the agency is actively working with food manufacturers toward a target to eliminate the six primary remaining certified petroleum dyes by the end of 2027. These six colors comprise Red 40, Yellow 5 (Tartrazine), Yellow 6 (Sunset Yellow FCF), Blue 1 (Brilliant Blue FCF), Blue 2 (Indigotine), and Green 3 (Fast Green FCF).

It is important to distinguish between mandatory regulatory bans and voluntary phaseouts. The end-of-2027 timeline for Red 40 and the other five primary dyes is currently a voluntary collaboration between federal agencies and food producers. In contrast, the FDA has finalized enforceable actions on other color additives:

• Red 3 (Erythrosine): The FDA formally revoked authorization for Red 3 on January 15, 2025, establishing a mandatory compliance deadline for food products of January 15, 2027.
• Orange B: The revocation of Orange B, a synthetic dye historically authorized only for sausage casings, is fully final, as explored in FDA Revokes Orange B: The Sausage-Casing Dye Nobody Used.
• Citrus Red 2: The FDA has formally proposed the revocation of Citrus Red 2, which has historically been permitted only to color the skins of certain whole oranges.

While federal policy on Red 40 centers on voluntary targets, state legislation has established binding restrictions. California enacted Assembly Bill 2316, which bars public schools from serving foods containing Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 starting in late 2027. Because major food processors typically maintain unified national distribution networks, state-level requirements are functioning as a primary commercial catalyst for broad reformulation.

Who is affected by the dye phaseout?

The ongoing transition away from petroleum-based colorings affects foodservice operators, commercial food processors, and several distinct consumer demographics. Fast-casual and quick-service restaurant brands that rely on brightly colored fountain drinks, blended shakes, bakery toppings, and condiment lines are actively re-engineering recipes to match visual expectations using natural pigments.

Packaged food manufacturers face considerable operational shifts. Certified synthetic dyes have long provided distinct industrial advantages: they remain exceptionally shelf-stable under light and heat, deliver consistent pigmentation across vast production batches, and cost significantly less than plant-derived extracts. Replacing Red 40 in acidic beverages, baked goods, and extruded snacks requires reformulating with botanical options that can behave differently during pasteurization and prolonged storage.

For consumers, children and individuals with specific metabolic or immunological sensitivities are the most directly affected. Most of the dye is not absorbed and travels to the lower gut, where bacteria break its azo bond. According to toxicological assessments documented in the JECFA Allura Red AC Evaluation, the acceptable daily intake (ADI) is set at 0 to 7 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day. In the European Union, foods containing Red 40 must carry a mandatory warning stating the color "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children."

Scientific literature, including peer-reviewed toxicological and clinical evaluations like the study on Dietary Red Dye 40 and Colonic Inflammation, has examined how regular dye intake interacts with gut lining integrity, colonic inflammation, and allergic manifestations such as urticaria or mucosal swelling in reactive subsets of the population. Technical profiles from the International Association of Color Manufacturers describe it as stable across the acidity range of most foods and drinks. However, scientific evidence cannot establish uniform individual thresholds or predict adverse behavioral reactions for every child, as sensitivity varies considerably across individuals.

What it means for shoppers at the grocery store?

For consumers navigating supermarket aisles today, understanding ingredient labels is essential. Because the FDA late-2027 target for Red 40 is voluntary, the presence of synthetic colorants varies widely between product categories and individual brands.

To navigate these changes at the shelf, shoppers should understand the regulatory definitions appearing on the ingredient panel:

• Certified color additives: These are synthetically manufactured, petroleum-derived dyes subject to mandatory FDA batch certification. On US packaging, they appear explicitly as "FD&C Red No. 40", "Red 40", or "Red 40 Lake" (the insoluble aluminum salt form used in dry mixes and coatings).
• Exempt color additives (natural sources): Colors derived from vegetable, fruit, mineral, or plant sources are exempt from batch certification. On ingredient lists, these appear under names such as "vegetable juice (color)", "beet juice concentrate", "beta carotene", "paprika extract", or "spirulina extract".
• Beta carotene: A naturally occurring carotenoid pigment found in carrots, sweet potatoes, and algae that imparts a yellow-to-orange shade and also serves as a provitamin A precursor.
• Vegetable juice color: Aqueous extracts obtained from red beets, purple sweet potatoes, red cabbage, or black carrots that deliver pink to deep red hues depending on product acidity (pH).

Shoppers should not assume that all fruit-flavored or brightly colored foods have transitioned. While items like In-N-Out's strawberry shakes now utilize vegetable juice and beta carotene, many conventional packaged items continue to list certified synthetic dyes. For instance, commercial orange sodas frequently list both Yellow 6 and Red 40 to achieve a deep orange hue. Similarly, brightly colored fruit snacks, sports drinks, gelatin desserts, and breakfast cereals frequently still rely on certified colors. Reviewing the ingredient panel remains the only reliable method to verify whether a product uses petroleum dyes or botanical alternatives.

Shoppers tracking broader regulatory shifts can review which food additives are banned in which US state, the natural food colors the FDA approved to replace dyes, and FDA's reassessment of the preservative BHT.

The background

Synthetic food dyes were developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, gradually replacing unstable or toxic mineral pigments with petroleum-derived coal-tar derivatives. Over decades of regulatory oversight under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA substantially narrowed the list of permitted synthetic colorants through toxicological reviews, establishing rigorous purity and safety thresholds.

FD&C Red No. 40 was approved in the United States in 1971 to provide a stable, water-soluble alternative to older red dyes that faced safety questions or regulatory restrictions. Over the following decades, Red 40 grew into the most widely consumed red food colorant in the American food supply, utilized in thousands of processed food formulations.

International divergence emerged in 2007 following the publication of the Southampton study in the United Kingdom, which evaluated mixtures of synthetic dyes (including Allura Red AC) and sodium benzoate on hyperactivity in children. While US regulators determined the study did not establish a definitive causal link across the general population, the European Union mandated warning labels in 2010. This prompted major multinational brands to reformulate their European product lines with botanical extracts while continuing to sell petroleum-dyed formulations in North America.

In recent years, domestic scrutiny has accelerated dramatically. Increasing consumer interest in clean labels, state-level bans on specific food additives, and new toxicological research examining gut inflammatory pathways prompted federal agencies to re-evaluate synthetic dyes, leading to the voluntary 2027 transition timeline monitored on the FDA September 2026 tracking dashboard.

What to watch next

As the industry moves toward late 2027, several clear regulatory and commercial milestones will determine how rapidly synthetic dyes disappear from American shelves:

• January 15, 2027: The mandatory FDA food compliance deadline for the complete removal of Red 3 takes effect across all domestic food processing.
• Mid-to-Late 2027: California's AB 2316 compliance date arrives, legally prohibiting Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 from public school meal programs.
• FDA Tracking Updates: The FDA and HHS will continue updating their public industry pledge portal as additional national restaurant chains and major packaged-food conglomerates submit formal transition plans.
• Citrus Red 2 Rulemaking: The FDA is expected to finalize its proposed revocation of Citrus Red 2, permanently closing the remaining cosmetic exemption for whole orange peel coloring.
• State Legislative Pipeline: Additional state legislatures are evaluating additive restriction bills modeled after California's statutes, increasing pressure on brands to adopt single, nationwide clean-label formulations.

While regulatory updates continue to unfold, checking labels is the best way to understand the ingredients in your pantry.