color added

Classifications are made based on the available commercial supply of the ingredient, and are made based on the criteria on our classifications page.

Commercially available color added may be vegan depending on the source and may be vegetarian depending on the source.

'Color added' may be used instead of specifying the exact ingredients used to color a product when the color additive is exempt from certification. Exempt color additives are defined as 'dyes and pigments derived from natural sources such as vegetables, minerals, or animals', so these may not be vegan.

Sources

1. https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/Food-Ingredients-and-Colors-%28PDF%29.pdf
2. https://www.fda.gov/food/color-additives-information-consumers/color-additives-foods