Eight artificial dyes will be phased out of US food supply, Health Secretary RFK Jr. says
Eight artificial dyes will be eliminated from medications and the nation's food supply by the end of 2026, including those found in candy, ice cream, soft drinks and jams, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
These artificial dyes – detailed during an April 22 news conference in Washington – are used to offset color loss due to exposure to light, temperature extremes as well as to provide color to colorless and "fun" foods, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
For years, Kennedy has railed against Big Food and Big Pharma and blamed the nation’s “chronic disease epidemic” on additives and junk food, including during his campaign for president in the 2024 Democratic primaries and then as an independent. After he endorsed President Donald Trump, Trump incorporated those ideas into his own campaign and they're now part of the new administration's Make America Healthy Again agenda.
The dyes that will be phased out in less than two years are FD&C Blue Nos. 1 and 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow Nos 5 and 6. In the coming months, the process will begin to revoke authorization of Orange B, Citrus Red No. 2, according to the HHS.
Within weeks, the FDA will also authorize four new natural color additives and partner with the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on "how food additives impact children’s health and development," according to the HHS.
Under the Biden administration, the FDA had already mandated by January 15, 2027, a ban on Red Dye No. 3, found in candy, desserts, and some medications. HHS said on April 22 that the Trump administration is requesting food companies move that deadline forward.
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Kennedy in the past has linked food dyes and additives to ADHD and chronic diseases, such as obesity. At the April 22 news conference, the Trump Cabinet member rattled off a litany of diseases and neurological disorders and appeared to link them to chemicals being added by the food and drug industries.
In March, Kennedy met in private with the leaders of food companies such as PepsiCo, General Mills, Tyson Foods, Kraft, Heinz and Kellogg's. During that meeting, Kennedy told CBS News that he demanded artificial food dyes would "all have to be out within two years."
Kennedy on April 22 recalled a conversation with his staff after that meeting with the food industry leaders and hinted at an initial reluctance by the CEOs to get rid of petroleum-based dyes.
"I said, if they want to add petroleum, they want to eat petroleum," he said. "They ought to add it themselves at home, but they shouldn't be feeding it to the rest of us without our knowledge or consent."
Kennedy also complained that there are "shockingly few studies" on the safety of food dyes and certain other ingredients because of conflicts of interest at the federal agencies he now oversees.
A study by the California's Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 linked consumption of synthetic food dyes to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral problems in some children. Similar studies also previously prompted the European Union to restrict food coloring.
“Evidence shows that synthetic food dyes are associated with adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in some children,” said California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Director Dr. Lauren Zeise. “With increasing numbers of U.S. children diagnosed with behavioral disorders, this assessment can inform efforts to protect children from exposures that may exacerbate behavioral problems.”
Last year, California banned six dyes from use in public school lunches.
The Consumer Brand Association, which represents companies that manufacture food, beverages and household products, told its members that it was an “urgent priority” for the Trump administration to remove certain artificial colors from the food supply – and that Kennedy wanted it “done before he leaves office.
Food activist and blogger Vani Hari, who has run campaigns around ingredients and transparency against food companies for more than a decade, said Kennedy's efforts were a win for American parents.
"I never thought I'd see the day when the FDA actually did this," Hari told Paste BN. "I had lost faith in my government leaders and now it's been restored. The FDA is no longer sleeping at the wheel."
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House Correspondent for Paste BN. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal
(This story has been updated with more information and photographs.)