Betty Crocker Rainbow Fudge Brownie Cups
General Mills Sales Inc. · Baking/Cooking Mixes/Supplies · barcode 00016000186538
What stands out
- From the label
The ingredients list Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow) and Red No. 3 (erythrosine), which have stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: US (FDA) ban from 2027; EU warning label. Details
- Lab testsNo lab has published results for this exact product.
- RecallsNo FDA recall lists this barcode.
- Additives2 ingredients have stricter rules elsewhere. Strictest: US (FDA) ban from 2027; EU warning label. Which
- TypicalFDA's tests of baking/cooking mixes/supplies show what's typical. See levels
Additives with restrictions somewhere
From the ingredient list on file (label data dated 2024-02-01). Recipes change, so check the package you have.
Rules that apply to more than one of these
- West Virginia: Banned from 2028-01-01 Food containing it is treated as adulterated in West Virginia from January 1, 2028. (HB 2354 (2025)) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Red No. 3 (erythrosine).
- West Virginia: Banned in school meals from 2025-08-01 Banned in West Virginia school meals since August 1, 2025. (HB 2354 (2025)) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Red No. 3 (erythrosine).
- Texas: Warning label required from 2027-01-01 Labels developed on or after January 1, 2027 must warn that the product contains an ingredient not recommended for consumption in Australia, Canada, the EU or the UK. (SB 25 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
- Louisiana: Banned in school meals from 2028-2029 school year Banned in Louisiana school food from the 2028-2029 school year (concession stands and vending machines exempt). (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow), Red No. 3 (erythrosine).
- Louisiana: Warning label required from 2028-01-01 Products containing it must carry a QR code disclosure from January 1, 2028. (SB 14, Act 463 (2025)) Source. Applies to all of them.
Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow) (E110)
- US (FDA): Allowed FDA allows Yellow No. 6 as a certified color additive. Source
- EU: Allowed with warning label Allowed as E110, but foods containing it must say it "may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children." (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, Annex V) Source
- California: Banned in school meals from 2027-12-31 Banned in food and drinks offered in California public schools from December 31, 2027. (AB 2316 (2024)) Source
Red No. 3 (erythrosine) (E127)
- US (FDA): Authorization revoked from 2027-01-15 FDA revoked its approval for food; food makers must stop using it by January 15, 2027 (ingested drugs by January 18, 2028). (90 FR 4628 (2025)) Source
- EU: Allowed On the EU's list of approved additives as E127. Only in cocktail and candied cherries and bigarreaux cherries. (Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008) Source
- California: Banned from 2027-01-01 Banned in food made, sold or distributed in California after January 1, 2027. (AB 418 (2023)) Source
Bleached flour
- US (FDA): Allowed FDA allows bleached flour. Source
Typical for baking/cooking mixes/supplies
FDA doesn't test this exact kind of food, so these are the closest foods it does test. Treat them as a rough guide.
- Cadmium: typically 25.2 ppb (FDA, 7 samples, 2018-2020).
A toddler reaches EPA's daily limit at about 610 g (22 oz) a day; an adult at about 2.8 kg (6.2 lb).One serving (32 g, from the label):5% of a toddler's daily limit1% of an adult's daily limit
- Arsenic (total): typically 12.5 ppb (FDA, 7 samples, 2018-2020). No US agency limit we can cite.
- Lead, Mercury: usually below 4 ppb, the lab's limit, in FDA's samples.
FDA samples behind these numbers
- Lead in Baking powder: found in 1 of 1 sample, average 164, highest 164 ppb (2020)
- Lead in Flour, white, all-purpose: found in 1 of 3 samples, average 1.63, highest 4.9 ppb (2018-2020)
- Lead in Pie crust: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 4 ppb (2018-2020)
- Cadmium in Baking powder: found in 1 of 1 sample, average 20, highest 20 ppb (2020)
- Cadmium in Flour, white, all-purpose: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 42.3, highest 45 ppb (2018-2020)
- Cadmium in Pie crust: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 8.63, highest 9.7 ppb (2018-2020)
- Mercury in Baking powder: found in 1 of 1 sample, average 120, highest 120 ppb (2020)
- Mercury in Flour, white, all-purpose: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 1 ppb (2018-2020)
- Mercury in Pie crust: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 1 ppb (2018-2020)
- Arsenic (total) in Baking powder: found in 1 of 1 sample, average 77, highest 77 ppb (2020)
- Arsenic (total) in Flour, white, all-purpose: found in 3 of 3 samples, average 3.53, highest 3.6 ppb (2018-2020)
- Arsenic (total) in Pie crust: found in 0 of 3 samples, all below 3 ppb (2018-2020)
"Typically" is FDA's middle sample. Daily amounts use the long-run average and each chemical's daily limit (EPA reference dose, or FDA's level for lead) for a 33-lb toddler and a 154-lb adult. ppb = micrograms per kilogram of food. Source: FDA Total Diet Study.
Not tested
No published results for this product cover: Metals, Perchlorate, Phthalates (plastic softeners), Phthalate substitutes, Bisphenols. That means nobody has published a test, not that these are absent.
Ingredients (from the label)
Sugar, Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Rainbow Candy Chips (semisweet chocolate [sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, dextrose, soy lecithin, vanilla], sugar, color [yellow lakes 5 & 6, red lake 40, yellow 6, blue lakes 1 & 2, red 3], carnauba wax, shellac, beeswax), Nonfat Milk, Corn Syrup, Water, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Corn Starch. Contains 2% or less of: Cocoa, Palm Oil, Buttermilk, Salt, Whey, Butter, Sodium Alginate, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Mono and Diglycerides, Carob Powder, Baking Soda, Potassium Sorbate (preservative), Color Added.
From USDA FoodData Central, label dated 2024-02-01. Labels change; check the package.