More than 122,000 cases of Gatorade are under a voluntary recall because labels did not list yellow food dyes that are in the bottles, according to an enforcement report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The report covers 122,021 cases of 28-ounce bottles in four varieties: Gatorade Lemon Lime, Gatorade Lemon Lime Zero, Gatorade Orange, and Gatorade Orange Zero. PepsiCo, which owns the brand, initiated the recall on September 25, 2026. The FDA classified it as Class II on October 2. The recall number is H-0009-2027. It was still listed as ongoing after that classification.
The dyes are FD&C Yellow No. 5, also called tartrazine, and FD&C Yellow No. 6, also called Sunset Yellow. Both are allowed in food. Federal rules require them on the ingredient list so people who are sensitive to them can avoid them. The FDA says a Class II recall is one in which use of the product may cause temporary or medically reversible health effects, or in which the chance of serious harm is remote. Reported reactions to these dyes are uncommon and are more often described in people who also react to aspirin. No illnesses linked to these bottles had been reported in the public recall notice.
Distribution included 37 states: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Bottles move with shoppers, so a code check is still the reliable test.
The affected lot codes, and the dates printed with them, are:
• 091026 DL, June 7, 2027
• 091126 DL, June 8, 2027
• 072226 DT, April 18, 2027
• 072426 TL, April 20, 2027
• 073126 TL, April 27, 2027
• 072926 TL, April 25, 2027
• 073026 TL, April 25, 2027
• 081026 TL, May 7, 2027
• 082126 OA, April 18, 2027
• 080126 DL, April 28, 2027
• 082026 DL, May 17, 2027
• 083126 DT, June 7, 2027
• 082526 KM, May 22, 2027
• 090426 KM, June 1, 2027
• 072726 TL, April 23, 2027
Only those 28-ounce lots are named in the report. Other sizes and other flavors are not part of this action. Consumers who have a matching bottle, especially anyone with a known dye sensitivity, should not drink it and should follow the return instructions from the retailer or from PepsiCo. The FDA posts recall updates at fda.gov.
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