The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires manufacturers to list color additives as ingredients on the product label. If a product contains an FDA-certified color additive, it will be listed in the ingredients under its name (i.e. Red 40).
Furthermore, the FDA states that color additives exempt from certification can be listed collectively as “artificial colors”, “artificial color added”, “color added” or under similar informative terms such as “colored with vegetable juice”. Exempt color additives are derived from animal, plant, or mineral sources.
Simply put, a review of a food’s ingredients will inform you if it has a color additive or dye.
Below you will learn if some of the most popular store-bought pizza sauce brands have red dye. You will also discover if restaurant pizza sauce has red dye from places like Dominos and Little Caesars.
This information will provide you with a solid understanding of the dyes used in pizza sauces if any. Let’s get into it!
Does Store-Bought Pizza Sauce Have Red Dye?
The table below shows that none of the popular pizza sauces listed contain red dye. In fact, zero have any type of dye.
Pizza sauce is commonly made with simple ingredients like tomatoes, oil, spices, and salt. There is no need to add red dye to it since the tomatoes provide a natural and appealing red color.
| Pizza Sauce | Red Dye (Yes or No)? | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Ragu Homemade Style | No | Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Soybean Oil, Salt, Spices, Natural Flavors |
| Prego Pizzeria Style | No | Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Contains Less Than 1% Of: Canola Oil, Salt, Dried Garlic, Dried Onions, Spices, Citric Acid |
| Contadina | No | Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Corn Syrup, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Soybean Oil, Onion Powder, Natural Flavor, Carrot Fiber, Spices, Citric Acid, Garlic Powder, Potassium Sorbate (Preservative) |
| Classico Signature Recipes | No | Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Diced Tomatoes In Tomato Juice, Sugar, Olive Oil, Salt, Spices, Granulated Garlic |
| Don Pepino Original | No | Tomatoes, Corn Oil, Salt, Spices, Garlic Powder |
| Primal Kitchen Unsweetened | No | Organic Tomato Puree (Water, Organic Tomato Paste), Avocado Oil, Sea Salt, Organic Dried Onions, Organic Onion Powder, Organic Garlic Powder, Citric Acid, Organic Basil, Organic Oregano, Organic Black Pepper |
| Roa’s Homemade | No | Italian Whole Peeled Tomatoes, Italian Cherry Tomatoes, Olive Oil, Carrots, Onions, Salt, Oregano, Garlic Basil |
| Dei Fratelli Italian Style | No | Tomatoes, Cane Sugar, Sea Salt, Corn Starch, Dehydrated Onion, Olive Oil, Oregano, Dehydrated Garlic, Black Pepper, Basil, Citric Acid, Peppers, Basil Oil, Oregano Oil, Vinegar |
| Pastorelli Original | No | California Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Non-GMO Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Imported Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Imported Pecorino Romano Cheese (Pasteurized Sheeps Milk, Cheese Cultures, Sea Salt, And Enzymes), Spices, Garlic And Citric Acid |
| Great Value | No | Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Less than 2% of: Soybean Oil, Salt, Spices, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid |
Be sure to check the product label of a pizza sauce at the store to review its ingredients if avoiding red dye is important to you. Ingredients may change without notice and there is no guarantee that a sauce is free of dye. The label will provide the most accurate and up-to-date ingredients.
Does Restaurant Pizza Sauce Have Red Dye?
It is not common for pizza sauce used on restaurant pizzas to contain dye. Again, dye isn’t a necessary ingredient when the tomatoes provide all the appropriate natural coloring.
Here are the ingredients of a few pizza sauces used at popular chain pizzerias:
| Pizza Sauce | Red Dye (Yes or No)? | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Dominos | No | Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Sugar, Salt, Spices, Garlic, Soybean Oil, and Citric Acid |
| Papa Johns | No | Fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, sunflower oil, sugar, salt, garlic, spices, extra virgin olive oil, citric acid |
| Little Caesars | No | Tomatoes [Fresh California Crushed Tomatoes, Citric Acid], Water, Pizza Spice Mix [Sugar, Salt, Spices, Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Onion] |
| Sbarro | No | Tomatoes, Tomato Puree, Basil Salt |
| Cici’s | No | Tomato Puree (Water, Tomato Paste), Tomatoes, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Sugar, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Spices, Natural Flavors, Xanthan Gum, Dehydrated Parsley, Extractives Of Paprika, Citric Acid |
Sources:
“Labeling Foods Containing Color Additives.” LabelCalc, 29 Dec. 2021, https://labelcalc.com/using-fda-guidelines-and-consumer-trends-when-labeling-foods-containing-color-additives/.