The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning on Friday, October 2, stating that Gatorade beverages contain undisclosed food coloring, which may pose a risk to some consumers. The FDA has announced the recall of 122,000 cases of Gatorade in 37 states.
Gatorade is a non-carbonated sports drink that currently belongs to PepsiCo. PepsiCo voluntarily initiated the recall on September 25, and the recall process is still ongoing.
This recall is classified as a Class II recall, involving 122,021 cases of 28-ounce Gatorade beverages in flavors like lemon-lime, zero lemon-lime, orange, and zero orange.
According to the FDA enforcement report, these products are being recalled because they contain food coloring not listed on the product ingredient label – Yellow 5 and/or Yellow 6.
A Class II recall by the FDA is defined as a situation where the use or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary adverse health consequences or is medically reversible, or where the likelihood of serious harm is remote.
In contrast, a Class I recall involves a “reasonable probability” of causing serious health consequences, illness, or even death. However, a Class II recall still indicates the presence of potential health concerns that require the removal of affected products from the market.
The 37 states affected by this recall include:
– Alaska
– Alabama
– Arkansas
– Arizona
– California
– Colorado
– Florida
– Georgia
– Hawaii
– Iowa
– Idaho
– Illinois
– Indiana
– Kansas
– Kentucky
– Louisiana
– Michigan
– Minnesota
– Missouri
– Mississippi
– North Carolina
– North Dakota
– Nebraska
– New Jersey
– New Mexico
– Nevada
– New York
– Ohio
– Oklahoma
– Pennsylvania
– South Carolina
– South Dakota
– Tennessee
– Texas
– Utah
– Washington
– Wisconsin
Yellow 5 (also known as Tartrazine) and Yellow 6 (also known as Sunset Yellow) are synthetic food colorings commonly used to give foods and beverages a yellow or orange hue. Both types of colorings are FDA-approved for use under specific conditions.
The reason for this recall is not that these dyes are banned, but rather that they were not declared on the product labels, which could lead to accidental ingestion by consumers sensitive to these dyes.
The FDA notes that these colorings “may cause allergic reactions in some vulnerable populations, such as individuals with bronchial asthma,” and are associated with allergic reactions such as hives and asthma symptoms in certain individuals.
While such allergic reactions are not common in the general population, they are more common in individuals allergic to aspirin.
The FDA emphasizes that approved food colorings like Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 “must be labeled on the product.” Federal regulations explicitly require certain products containing Yellow 5 to carry warning messages.
Research from the U.S. National Library of Medicine indicates that synthetic food colorings (including Yellow 5 and Yellow 6) are associated with allergic reactions like hives and asthma symptoms in some individuals.
Consumers who have purchased the recalled Gatorade products are advised to check the bottle lot numbers against the recall notice and avoid consuming the affected products, especially if they have known allergies to food colorings or a history of allergic reactions.
The lot numbers and expiration dates of the recalled products are as follows:
091026 DL – June 7, 2027
091126 DL – June 8, 2027
072226 DT – April 18, 2027
072426 TL – April 20, 2027
073126 TL – April 27, 2027
072926 TL – April 25, 2027
073026 TL – April 25, 2027
081026 TL – May 7, 2027
082126 OA – April 18, 2027
080126 DL – April 28, 2027
082026 DL – May 17, 2027
083126 DT – June 7, 2027
082526 KM – May 22, 2027
090426 KM – June 1, 2027
072726 TL – April 23, 2027
The recall operation is still ongoing, with PepsiCo and regulatory authorities continuing to monitor the affected products.