FD&C Yellow No. 6 listing.

How 74.706 is organized

Part 74 of Title 21, "Listing of Color Additives Subject to Certification," holds the certified color additive entries. Section 74.706 is the entry for FD&C Yellow No. 6. It has five parts: (a) Identity, (b) Specifications, (c) Uses and restrictions, (d) Labeling requirements and (e) Certification. The text on this page is the eCFR version current through October 29, 2026; its section history ends at 53 FR 49138 (December 6, 1988). This page reports what that printed listing says and does not follow other FDA actions on color additives.

Identity: paragraph (a)

Under (a)(1), FD&C Yellow No. 6 "is principally the disodium salt of 6-hydroxy-5-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid (CAS Reg. No. 2783-94-0)." The trisodium salt of 3-hydroxy-4-[(4-sulfophenyl)azo]-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid (CAS Reg. No. 50880-65-4) "may be added in small amounts." The paragraph describes manufacture: diazotizing 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid with hydrochloric acid and sodium nitrite or sulfuric acid and sodium nitrite, coupling the diazo compound with 6-hydroxy-2-naphthalene-sulfonic acid, and isolating the dye as the sodium salt and drying it. Under (a)(2), color additive mixtures for food use may contain only those diluents that are suitable and that are listed in part 73 as safe for use in color additive mixtures for coloring foods.

Specifications: paragraph (b)

Paragraph (b) requires the color additive to conform to a list of limits and to be "free from impurities other than those named to the extent that such other impurities may be avoided by current good manufacturing practice."

Uses and restrictions: paragraph (c)

Paragraph (c) is the use rule: "The color additive FD&C Yellow No. 6 may be safely used for coloring foods (including dietary supplements) generally in amounts consistent with current good manufacturing practice, except that it may not be used to color foods for which standards of identity have been promulgated under section 401 of the act unless added color is authorized by such standards."

So the listing has no per-food numeric cap. It draws one line at standardized foods: if a standard of identity exists for the food, the standard itself has to authorize added color. This page does not list which standards do.

Labeling and certification: paragraphs (d) and (e)

• (d)(1) The label of the color additive and any mixtures intended solely or in part for coloring purposes prepared from it shall conform to the requirements of section 70.25 of Title 21. Paragraph (d)(2) is reserved.
• (e) All batches of FD&C Yellow No. 6 shall be certified in accordance with the regulations in part 80 of Title 21.

Declaring the color on a finished food label is a separate matter handled in the general ingredient labeling rules, which this page does not read.

Worked example

A lab report for a lot gives 10 percent volatile matter plus chlorides and sulfates, 0.1 percent water insoluble matter, 2 ppm lead, 1 ppm arsenic and 90 percent total color. Each entered figure meets its limit in (b): 10 is not more than 13, 0.1 is not more than 0.2, 2 is not more than 10, 1 is not more than 3 and 90 is not less than 87. That is not the same as certification, which part 80 requires batch by batch.

Limits of this page

Regulatory status for color additives can change through rulemaking, petitions and agency announcements. The text above is what the eCFR showed on October 29, 2026, and this page did not review any later notice, any announcement about voluntary industry changes or any compliance dates. Anyone making a labeling or formulation decision should check the regulation in force and FDA directly.

Sources

Sources opened and read November 2, 2026.

• eCFR: 21 CFR 74.706, FD&C Yellow No. 6 (current through October 29, 2026) (read November 2, 2026)
• eCFR: 21 CFR part 74, Listing of color additives subject to certification (read November 2, 2026)