Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement secured another victory in its crusade against artificial food dyes.
The Consumer Brands Association, a trade group representing the everyday food industry, announced Tuesday its plan to encourage food and beverage companies to stop manufacturing products with artificial food dyes by the end of 2027.
“America is entering a new era of nutrition,” Kennedy said in a statement.
“In just a few months, the nation’s leading food and beverage producers have taken bold steps to clean up products loved by children and families. Replacing synthetic food dyes with natural colors marks another major victory in our mission to Make America Healthy Again.”
It marks the latest win for Kennedy’s MAHA movement, which has quietly racked up state-level victories on food dyes and other priorities.
The Consumer Brands Association’s latest announcement specifically highlights the removal of commonly used food dyes such as Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6. Many prominent American brands are members of the Consumer Brands Association, including Coca Cola, General Mills, and Colgate-Palmolive.
Getting artificial dyes out of products is a top priority of the Make America Healthy Again movement, a loosely defined coalition of activists concerned about the rise of chronic disease and poor American nutrition. MAHA proponents believe artificial food dyes are linked to behavioral problems in children and make ultra-processed foods more desirable to kids.
“Promises made, promises kept,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
“We’ve worked hard with industry over the past three months to meet our goal to phase out all petroleum-based dyes from the nation’s food supply. During this time, the FDA also approved four new natural color additives. Today is a win for America’s kids.”
The main evidence for MAHA’s assertions about food dyes is a 2021 study from California’s office of environmental health hazard assessment that reviewed existing literature on several commonly used artificial colors.
The Consumer Brands Association has already committed to removing artificial food dyes from school lunches by the beginning of the 2026-27 school year. The trade group maintains that artificial foods are safe for consumption, but is willing to work with the Trump administration on removing certain food dyes from products.
“For decades, the makers of America’s trusted household brands have innovated to meet the evolving preferences of consumers. This is an example of companies taking voluntary action to remove safe ingredients to meet consumer demand for alternatives,” said Consumer Brands president and CEO Melissa Hockstad.
“As the industry takes this voluntary step, it’s critical the Trump administration supports federal uniformity as it relates to ingredient safety and transparency as a necessary measure to ensure the Make America Healthy Again legacy and allow companies to innovate to provide healthier choices.”
Kennedy’s approach to getting food dyes out of the American food supply has been characterized by collaboration with industry leaders rather than regulatory coercion. Numerous large food companies have recently announced plans to remove artificial dyes from their products over the next couple years to satisfy Kennedy’s demands.
Kennedy and Makary began their push to move beyond artificial food dyes earlier this year with a plan to cooperate with companies instead of going through the normal regulatory process. Kennedy has touted the announcements from large food producers when they have promised to stop using synthetic dyes.