No FD&C Dyes: What It Means for You
No FD&C Dyes At a Glance
- No FD&C Dyes means products are made without synthetic color additives like Red 40 or Yellow 5.
- Growing consumer demand and new regulations are driving the shift toward more transparent labeling.
- Gold Medal is committed to innovation and offers a wide selection of products without FD&C dyes.
What Does “No FD&C Dyes” Mean?
Across the food industry, there’s a growing interest in products made without artificial colors. The phrase, “no FD&C dyes” means that synthetic color additives (such as Red 40, Yellow 5, or Blue 1) are not used in the product’s formulation. Instead, the product may be color free, or any color comes naturally from ingredients like plant-based sources. The product may appear lighter or more neutral in color.
This shift is driven by both consumer demand and regulatory changes. More customers are gaining awareness and reading labels carefully. At the same time, regulatory agencies are pushing food labeling transparency, making it important that manufacturers and operators offer clear choices.
Why It Matters: Regulation and Preference
States are beginning to introduce new legislation around food colorants, particularly concerning products sold in schools or marketed to children. Even when not mandated by law, many brands are being proactive and voluntarily reformulating products to meet consumer expectations.
Health-conscious consumers prefer natural or dye-free foods. For concession foods, this represents an opportunity to meet an emerging need, while still offering flavor and fun.
What to Expect with No FD&C Dye Products
Removing FD&C dyes requires a great deal of testing to determine what formulation works best without compromising the integrity of the original product. Here’s what operators and customers need to know:
- Appearance: Products may have a more muted or natural hue.
- Shelf Life: FD&C dyes can act as stabilizers, so dye-free versions might have a shorter shelf life or be more sensitive to light or humidity. Always follow Gold Medal’s storage recommendations to maintain quality.
- Taste and Performance: Our formulations are carefully tested to ensure the same great taste and results you expect from Gold Medal.
Educate customers to help them understand why these products may seem different from what they are accustomed to.
Gold Medal’s Products with No FD&C Dyes
Gold Medal is continuously working on developing new products and reworking existing products to meet consumer preferences and regulatory requirements. Here is a list of current products with no FD&C dyes.
Flavacol®: Gold Medal’s line of proprietary popcorn seasoning salt offers the following products without synthetic colors.
Simply Cheddar™: Produce tasty cheesy popcorn with this popcorn coating.
Glaze Pop®: This one-of-a-kind product allows operators to produce lightly candy-glazed popcorn straight from the kettle.
Signature Blends®: These blends or candy glazes can be used to flavor sweet popcorn, waffles, funnel cakes, fudge, and more.
Signature Shakes®: Shake-on seasonings that are typically applied after the cooking or baking process. Use to flavor popcorn, burgers, fries, wings, appetizers, and more.
5 Alarm Blazen: This oil-based recipe delivers red-hot heat to an assortment of foods from popcorn to fries, corn dogs, nachos, Saratoga Swirls, and more.
Flossugar: Gold Medal’s signature blend of cotton candy sugar.
Empowering Customers Through Transparency
Gold Medal believes in giving customers clear choices that align with their values and business goals. By choosing these types of products, you can appeal to health-conscious customers while still offering the fun, flavor, and visual appeal that define Gold Medal’s products.
If you have questions regarding the ingredients in any of our products, please contact us at 800-543-0862 or [email protected].