Color

Naming a certified color

Updated October 2026

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The naming requirement Two concessions in the same sentence But "Lake" is required And an alternative name may be added The shorthand, and its exact scope Or named voluntarily Butter, cheese and ice cream are carved out References

Two paragraphs, and which one applies is decided by the color, not by you.

The naming requirement

A color additive or the lake of a color additive subject to certification shall be declared by the name of the color additive listed in the applicable regulation in part 74 or part 82. That is the rule for certified colors and it is not optional.

Two concessions in the same sentence

It is not necessary to include the "FD&C" prefix or the term "No." in the declaration. So "Blue 1" rather than "FD&C Blue No. 1" is sufficient, which saves useful space on a small jar.

But "Lake" is required

The term Lake shall be included in the declaration of the lake of a certified color additive, and the rule gives "Blue 1 Lake" as its own example. A lake and a dye are different additives and the label has to say which.

And an alternative name may be added

Manufacturers may parenthetically declare an appropriate alternative name of the certified color following its common or usual name. That is a permission to add, not a license to substitute.

The shorthand, and its exact scope

Color additives not subject to certification, and not otherwise required by part 73 to be declared by their common or usual names, may be declared as "Artificial Color", "Artificial Color Added" or "Color Added", or by an equally informative term.

Or named voluntarily

Alternatively such colors may be declared as "Colored with ____" or "____ color", filling the blank with the name listed in part 73. For a product where the color is a selling point, naming it is often the better choice anyway.

Butter, cheese and ice cream are carved out

Coloring added to those need not be declared in the ingredient list unless a part 73 or 74 regulation requires it for safe conditions of use, though voluntary declaration is recommended. Nothing in this group is one of those three.

References

21 CFR 101.22(k), on declaring coloring in the statement of ingredients. Paragraph (k)(1) requires a color additive subject to certification to be declared by the name listed in part 74 or part 82, with "Lake" included where it is a lake; (k)(2) allows "Artificial Color", "Artificial Color Added" or "Color Added" only for colors not subject to certification and not otherwise required to be named. law.cornell.edu

21 CFR parts 73, 74 and 82, the listings of color additives exempt from certification, subject to certification, and provisionally listed. A color additive is lawful for a use because it is listed for that use, which is the authority 101.22(k) points at. law.cornell.edu

Written from federal statute and regulation, not from a kitchen. Food labeling has more parts than three sections, and a state cottage food program may add or subtract requirements for a local sale. Nothing here is clearance for a specific label, and whether an ingredient is cleared for food use is a question about that ingredient.