Foods

Dyes in sports and energy drinks

Sports drinks are known for blue and red flavors, but the labels show a lower share of dyes than many expect, because energy and protein drinks share the category.

Search labeled products by category and dye

Sports and energy drinks: products whose label lists a tracked dye or additive

473 of 2,655

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USDA FoodData Central, Branded Foods, release of 2026-10-29. The label date is when the record was submitted: recipes change, so check the package in your hand.

The USDA category used here brings together sports drinks and energy, protein and recovery drinks, 2,655 products in all. Only 18% of them list a tracked dye or additive, because protein shakes and most energy drinks are not colored with certified dyes. Among those that are, Blue 1 leads at 7% of the category, just ahead of Red 40 at 7% and Yellow 5 at 4%. Red 3 still appears on 3% of the labels, a higher rate than in sodas, and those products will need a new color before January 15, 2027. In schools, sports drinks are usually sold through vending machines or at games; whether a state rule reaches them depends on whether it covers competitive food, as in Virginia, Iowa or Arizona, or meals only, as in Alaska.

How common is this ingredient in a food category?

Sports and energy drinks whose label lists Red 40

6.6%

Products listing it175
Products in the category2,655

USDA FoodData Central, Branded Foods; labels were submitted over several years and recipes change.

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Colorless versions

Several sports drink lines sell "zero" or "clear" versions without dyes; on the label the difference is simply the absence of a color name. The search above, filtered by Blue 1 or Red 40, shows which records name a dye. Energy drinks colored with caramel or with fruit and vegetable juice do not appear in a dye search at all.

The school rules page explains competitive food.

What the labels list, substance by substance

2,655 products, 2,655 with an ingredient list; USDA FoodData Central, Branded Foods, release of October 29, 2026.
SubstanceProductsShare of the category
Red 401756.6%
Red 3853.2%
Yellow 51134.3%
Yellow 6602.3%
Blue 11887.1%
Blue 210.0%
BVO20.1%
Titanium dioxide70.3%

Questions people ask

How many sports and energy drinks products were counted, and how recent are their labels?

2,655 products, one per barcode, from the USDA FoodData Central Branded Foods release of October 29, 2026. 473 of them list at least one of the 14 substances tracked here. Most labels in the data set were filed in 2021 to 2023, so recipes may have changed since.

Which dye is listed most often in sports and energy drinks?

Blue 1, on 188 labels or 7.1% of the category, followed by Red 40 (175) and Yellow 5 (113). A product often lists several at once, so the counts overlap. The table on this page gives every tracked substance. Counts come from the labels, not from tests of the products themselves.

Are sports and energy drinks with these dyes legal to sell?

Yes, in stores, except for substances whose federal date has passed, such as BVO, or will pass, such as Red 3 on January 15, 2027, and from January 1, 2027 for the four substances of California's Food Safety Act in that state. School rules in several states limit what schools serve or sell, not what stores sell.

Check next

Foods with Red 40

Search US products whose label lists Red 40 or another tracked dye, by category, from USDA FoodData Central, with each label's date.

Ingredient list checker

Paste an ingredient list: every tracked dye or additive found, by FD&C name, lake, E or INS number, with its status in your state.

Dye laws by state

Pick a state and a dye or additive: the FDA rule, every state law that names it, and the date each one starts.

Natural food colors

The colors exempt from certification that replace synthetic dyes, the new ones the FDA approved since 2025, and two still on hold.

Laws and official pages behind this page

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Independent publisher of a state-by-state tracker of food dye and additive laws in the United States, with an ingredient-list checker built on USDA FoodData Central

Laws and FDA orders checked on · Editorial policy · Contact

Food dye and additive rules 2026, read in each state law and in the Federal Register, last checked on