Orange B

Orange B is a food dye from the azo dye group. It is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use only in hot dog and sausage casings or surfaces, only up to 150 parts per million of the finished food weight. It is typically prepared as a disodium salt.

Orange B was first listed as an approved food dye by the FDA in 1966. In 1978, the FDA proposed removing it from the list citing concerns about the presence of carcinogenic contaminants (specifically 2-naphthylamine). Around the same time, the only supplier in the United States, the William J. Stange Company, stopped manufacturing it. Despite not having been used in any food products since then, it was not removed from the list.