Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has announced the Food and Drug Administration’s intent to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the nation’s food supply – and its coloring used in many common foods.
The Trump administration says the move to eliminate synthetic dyes from the food supply by the end of next year could mark a “major step forward” in the drive to “Make America Healthy Again.” The ban would impact products such as breakfast cereals, candy and snacks. The dyes been tied to neurological problems in some children.
“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” Kennedy said in a statement. “These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development.
“We’re restoring gold-standard science, applying common sense, and beginning to earn back the public’s trust. And, we’re doing it by working with industry to get these toxic dyes out of the foods our families eat every day,” he added.
At a cabinet meeting earlier this month, Kennedy said that the dyes directly affect “academic performance, violence in the schools, and mental health, as well as physical health.”
The department said the FDA is fast-tracking the review of natural alternatives to synthetic dyes and that its agency is taking steps to issue guidance and provide regulatory flexibilities to industries.
“We have a new epidemic of childhood diabetes, obesity, depression, and ADHD,” FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said. “Given the growing concerns of doctors and parents about the potential role of petroleum-based food dyes, we should not be taking risks and do everything possible to safeguard the health of our children.”
Makary told reporters later that the food industry is “eager to do this.”
Here are the dyes up on the chopping block and what they’re commonly found in:
Red No. 40 – Pepsi Blue, Starburst and medication NyQuil.
Citrus Red No. 2 – Used to color the skin of some oranges
Yellow No. 6 – Airheads and cosmetic products including Bobbi Brown and MAC lipstick.
Yellow No. 5 – Mountain Dew and Doritos
Blue No. 1 – Blue Takis chips and MAC eyeshadow
Blue No. 2 – Oxycodone and a common bakery McCormick food dye.
Green No. 3 – Advil Liquid-gels and Lush’s blackberry bath bomb
Recent research shows synthetic food colors found in U.S. foods are linked to neurobehavioral problems in children and that the dyes may cause or exacerbate symptoms, particularly hyperactivity. In addition, children may vary widely in their sensitivity to the dyes.
“It is clear that some children are likely to be more adversely affected by food dyes than others,” the California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment reported in 2021.
Nevertheless, there is no clear evidence of a direct relationship between food dyes, academic performance, violence or other mental and physical conditions, scientists say.
Scientific evidence shows that “most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives,” according to the FDA.
The FDA banned the dye known as Red 3 from the nation’s food supply in January. It said the dye, also known as erythrosine, caused cancer in lab rats. A federal law requires the administration to ban any additive found to cause cancer in animals. However, officials stressed that the way Red 3 leads to cancer in rats doesn’t happen in people.
Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official, told the BBC that the only purpose of the artificial food dyes is to “make food companies money.”
“Food dyes help make ultra-processed foods more attractive, especially to children, often by masking the absence of a colorful ingredient, like fruit,” he said. “We don’t need synthetic dyes in the food supply, and no one will be harmed by their absence.”
With reporting from The Associated Press
