President Trump’s favorite candymaker is not RFK-approved. Is a clash brewing?
President Donald Trump, who famously has a sweet tooth, once received a handpicked selection of his favorite red and pink Starburst candy from former House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
But if his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has a say, the days of his artificially dyed technicolor candy would be numbered.
But Trump needn't fret. Yet.
Mars Wrigley, the manufacturer of M&Ms, Starburst and Skittles, has resisted Kennedy's artificial-food-dye-eschewing Make America Healthy Again agenda. But the company told Paste BN it’s “exploring” alternatives.
To the chagrin of food advocates and Kennedy's Department of Health and Human Services, though, it's not making any promises with timelines, as other major food companies have in recent months.
A Mars Wrigley spokesperson told Paste BN the conglomerate had not yet identified "fully effective solutions" and believes it is "premature to make commitments" until it is certain they can be fulfilled. The spokesperson said the company expects to be able to offer consumers more artificial-dye-free choices in the "near future.” An internal study by the company five years ago also found that consumers across the globe – except Europe – did not mind artificial dyes in their candy.
Kennedy's boss may be one of them.
During a Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day event organized by the White House in May, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told children of reporters that Trump eats a "good amount" of candy and said he likes pink Starbursts and Tootsie Rolls.
The president also has used candy as a tool of diplomacy. He reportedly tossed two Starburst candies at former German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G7 summit in 2018, saying, "Don't say I never give you anything."
Banning artificial dyes from the nation's food supply
Kennedy, who has long blamed America’s chronic health problems, including obesity and heart disease, on the food industry, announced in April that eight artificial dyes will be phased out from medications and the nation's food supply by the end of 2026, including dyes found in candy, ice cream, soft drinks and jams.
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 led the European Union to restrict food coloring. Last year, California banned six dyes from use in public schools. This year, West Virginia followed suit, and other states, like Virginia and Utah, ban them in public school lunches.
Though no formal agreement or legislation has been passed to ban the dyes, the HHS and the Food and Drug Administration have a "mutual understanding" with the food industry that the colorings will be removed, Kennedy said.
At the time, a statement from the watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest called the agreement's voluntary nature "disappointing."
Kennedy has generally received support across party lines when it comes to blaming the food industry for the nation's chronic health problems, including obesity and heart disease, according to the results of an NBC News Decision Desk Poll in June. At the same time, opponents have hammered him over his controversial views and policy moves regarding vaccines.
Since Kennedy's appointment, several food companies such as Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Nestle, Tyson Foods and Mars rival Hershey’s have committed to removing all artificial food dyes from their food within the next couple of years.
Another target: Ultra-processed food
Getting ultra-processed food off menus is an uphill battle.
Earlier in July, Kennedy praised an Oklahoma-based company that delivers $7-a-pop meals to Medicaid and Medicare enrollees for offering meals without "additives."
But an Associated Press review of Mom’s Meals menu, including the ingredients and nutrition labels, showed the company’s offerings are "the type of heat-and-eat, ultra-processed foods that Kennedy routinely criticizes for making people sick," the newswire reported.
And it's not just a battle with companies that Kennedy has to wage; it's also consumer behavior. Just ask his boss.
Trump's love for Big Macs is well-known. A book by two former aides described Trump’s go-to McDonald’s dinner as two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish sandwiches and a chocolate malted milkshake.
Even Kennedy was pictured holding what looked like a Big Mac while seated at a table with Trump and his inner circle on his private plane last November, right after Trump's reelection. It drew a great deal of public attention given Kennedy's war on ultra-processed food.
Mars takes a second look at artificial food dyes in its candies
Christopher Gindlesperger, senior vice president for public affairs and communications for the National Confectioners Association, a trade group for the U.S. confectionary industry, told Paste BN some of the challenges for the industry include a long reformulation process and significant costs associated with sourcing natural colors.
“The companies that make natural colors simply don’t make enough to meet demand,” Gindlesperger said.
In 2016, Mars announced it would voluntarily remove all artificial colors from its “human food portfolio globally.”
But after an internal team dived into developing new ingredients, securing regulatory approvals, addressing manufacturing readiness and figuring out "the needs and expectations of our consumers,” it shifted gears in 2020.
The company found that consumer expectations about colors in food differed widely across markets and categories. For dinnertime meals, they preferred natural ingredients, but when it came to candy, it was not a concern.
“For that reason, we will continue to prioritize our efforts to remove artificial colors in Europe – where consumers have expressed this preference – but will not be removing all artificial colors from our Mars Snacking portfolio in other markets,” it said in a statement now on its website. The statement dates back to 2020, the company confirmed.
Kennedy and many food advocates have repeatedly bemoaned the disproportionally large list of additives in the United States compared to Europe.
An estimated 10,000 food additives are approved for use in the United States versus 411 in the European Union, according to the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the HHS, said it is “disappointing that this company will prioritize removing artificial dyes in Europe but will not do the same in America.”
Vani Hari, a food advocate who has aligned herself with Kennedy’s MAHA agenda, said she was not sure what the company’s business strategy was, given that states such as West Virginia have begun banning the dyes. Texas is implementing new warning label requirements for foods and beverages containing certain artificial dyes and additives.
“I find it hard to see Mars being the only major candy company that will be left on the shelf with artificial dyes after Hershey declared the removal of them,” she said. “What’s their long-term plan? Stop selling in West Virginia and other states banning dyes? Put warning labels on their products just in Texas?”
Kennedy and his associates have said states, rather than lengthy federal regulations, may hold the key to forcing companies to change their ways.
As for consumer sentiment on artificial dyes, Mars' 5-year old data may no longer reflect the reality, Hari said.
The self-described "MAHA mom" said Kennedy's leadership on educating Americans has changed things.
“More moms than ever are becoming aware of the dangers of artificial dyes,” she said.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for Paste BN. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal