Gatorade Recall 2026: 122,000 Cases Recalled for Undeclared Yellow 5 and Yellow 6

What was recalled

PepsiCo recalled about 122,021 cases of 28 oz bottles of Gatorade across 37 U.S. states, according to FDA-linked public coverage of the enforcement notice. Flavors named in that coverage:

• Gatorade Lemon Lime
• Gatorade Lemon Lime Zero
• Gatorade Orange
• Gatorade Orange Zero

This is a food product recall. It is not a foodborne disease outbreak.

Why it was recalled

The recall concerns undeclared Yellow No. 5 and/or Yellow No. 6 color additives on product labeling. OutbreakThreat classifies this as a labeling / undeclared color additive recall - not pathogen contamination and not an outbreak investigation. People who are sensitive to Yellow No. 5 or Yellow No. 6 should check the official FDA notice and the codes on their bottles before consuming remaining product.

Timeline

• Recall initiated: Sept. 25, 2026 (firm-initiated, per FDA-linked coverage)
• FDA classification: Class II on Oct. 2, 2026

What FDA Class II means

FDA Class II means use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences, or the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote. Class II describes the potential hazard of the violative product under FDA's recall framework. It does not mean an outbreak was declared. Read FDA's Enforcement Reports page for definitions and the current classified recall listing.

What consumers should check

1. Flavor and bottle size (28 oz bottles named above).
2. Lot codes and best-by dates against the official FDA Enforcement Report. Public coverage describes lot dates in April, May, and June 2027. OutbreakThreat does not invent lot numbers.
3. Distribution: coverage of the FDA notice names 37 states. Confirm your state and product codes in the official record.

Follow PepsiCo and FDA instructions for return or disposal.

How this differs from a foodborne outbreak page

OutbreakThreat keeps product recalls and outbreak investigations in separate hubs on purpose. A recall names products, codes, and distribution. An outbreak investigation describes illness clusters and epidemiology. This Gatorade event is documented as a labeling / undeclared color additive recall. We do not treat it as a pathogen outbreak, and we do not invent illness tallies. If you are comparing notices, use our food recall vs outbreak investigation guide. For the structured product page with FAQ schema, open the Gatorade recall detail page.

How OutbreakThreat handles food recalls

We ingest FDA openFDA enforcement records on a twice-daily cron when the Source row is active, and we surface high-importance recalls as source-linked alerts and optional editorial briefs. When an openFDA feed lags a major public recall, we may publish a curated major-recall page and short report so readers still get a source-linked summary. Every claim on this page should be checked against the linked FDA Enforcement Reports hub and the firm's instructions. We also track USDA FSIS meat and poultry recalls through a dedicated adapter when that feed is reachable from the host. FSIS endpoints sometimes block datacenter IPs; when that happens, meat/poultry coverage may arrive later through FDA/CDC pathways or a restored FSIS fetch.

Retailers, schools, and kitchens

If you manage inventory, treat the official FDA listing as authoritative for SKU, lot, and disposition steps. Screenshot the notice, train staff on the four named 28 oz flavors, and do not rely on map pins or secondary headlines for discard decisions. Recalling-firm plant cities are not the same as where bottles were sold.

Official sources

• FDA Enforcement Reports
• FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts
• Structured recall page: Gatorade undeclared Yellow 5 / Yellow 6 recall 2026
• Hub: Food recall alerts
• Guide: Food recall vs outbreak investigation

What this page does not claim

• We do not invent illness, injury, or death counts.
• We do not invent lot codes beyond directing you to the official notice.
• We do not provide medical advice or personal risk scores.
• We do not call this event an outbreak.

--- *This brief is for general information only and is not medical advice. Follow your clinician and local public health authority for care decisions.*