Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced Tuesday afternoon a nationwide phase out of eight popular food dyes in what could be a dramatic change to the U.S. food supply.
Kennedy and Makary directed food manufacturers to phase out by next year a group of eight food additives found in cereals, sweets, sports drinks, yogurt, and a plethora of other commonly consumed foods.
“These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development. That era is coming to an end. 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,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The FDA is establishing a national standard for the food industry to move from petroleum-based food dyes to natural alternatives. The agency is initiating the process of removing authorization for Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, two artificial food colorings, and it is eliminating six synthetic dyes.
The FDA hopes to remove D&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2 from the U.S. food supply by the end of 2026.
These changes could impact iconic American food brands including M&Ms, Froot Loops, Doritos, and countless others. Kennedy clarified that HHS and the FDA have an “understanding” with food companies on the ban, without getting into specifics on its enforcement. He and Makary both praised the food companies for their cooperation in the process of devising the ban.
Across the board, food additives are used in an estimated 60 percent of products Americans buy at the grocery store, a 1o percent increase from 2001 to 2019. An analysis from the Wall Street Journal found that more than 10 percent of products contain at least one artificial dye, with half of confectionary foods having dyes.
Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Blue Dye No. 1, and Yellow Dye No. 6 are each contained in tens of thousands of products
“Today the FDA is taking action to remove petroleum-based food dyes from the U.S. food supply and from medications. For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals,” Makary said at a press conference, citing studies showing the correlation between the food dyes and several serious health conditions.
“Some parents have observed that these chemicals cause hyperactivity and even aggressive behavior. And that it subsides when the chemicals are removed from the diet of the child.”
The food dye ban is an early victory for Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement, a loosely-defined political coalition of people concerned about the chronic disease epidemic and skeptical of public health authorities.
Allying himself with the MAHA movement, Makary raised the alarm about the number of U.S. children with at least one health condition and the number of children on medications. He said the FDA is looking at the “root causes” of the child disease epidemic, rather than relying on medical treatments.
Popular health influencer Vani Hari was one of the MAHA activists in the crowd at Kennedy and Makary’s press conference announcing the food dye ban. Hari blasted food companies for using healthier ingredients in other countries and celebrated Kennedy for his receptiveness to MAHA activists.
Special government employee Calley Means, a well-known MAHA activist, attributed 90 percent of HHS’s spending to “poisoning” the American population with chronic disease.
“Two words are ringing out around the world from this building today, and those two words are ‘common sense,'” Means said.
“Secretary Kennedy and President Trump are walking with the MAHA moms behind them,” Means declared. “This is a major win. This is a major win among grassroots forces against special interests.”
MAHA advocates believe food dyes are linked to behavioral problems in children, and have spearheaded a state-level push to restrict their use. Food manufacturers and trade groups, including the Consumer Brands Association and International Association of Color Manufacturers, have asserted that food dyes have been researched extensively and shown to be safe.
West Virginia passed legislation last month banning certain food dyes as part of a broader package of MAHA bills Governor Patrick Morrisey (R) signed in March to combat the state’s obesity problem.
Morrisey introduced Kennedy at Tuesday’s press conference and Kennedy spoke about the vigor of American society when his uncle, John F. Kennedy Jr., was president, a stark contrast from the chronic disease issues of today.
Kennedy talked about not knowing anybody growing up with food allergies or diabetes, or other chronic diseases like asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. He called it an “existential” issue for the U.S. because of its impact on fertility, military readiness, and other central aspects of life.
California previously passed a law prohibiting Red Dye No. 3 before the MAHA movement reached the mainstream. Over a dozen other states have introduced bills to regulate the usage of artificial dyes in food and beverages.
In January, the FDA decided to ban Red Dye No. 3 after research in lab mice linked it to cancer. Under Kennedy and Makary, the FDA is asking food companies to remove the dye before the 2028 deadline given at the end of the previous administration.
Kennedy has touted recent MAHA legislative wins in states such as Arizona, Utah, and Indiana, as his prescriptions for a healthier lifestyle find appeal with members of both parties.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) is investigating Kellogg’s for potentially violating the Lonestar State’s consumer protection laws for falsely advertising its products as “healthy,” even though they include food dyes. Paxton’s office claimed the food dyes in Kellogg’s well-known cereals are linked to cancer, obesity, hyperactivity, and additional health problems.
“The most important thing to know about food dyes is that their only purpose is to make food companies money. They are purely cosmetic, serving no nutritional function. In other words, food dyes help make ultra-processed foods more attractive, especially to children, often by masking the absence of a colorful ingredient, like fruit,” said Peter G. Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group.
In praising the FDA’s moves to restrict food dyes, Lurie asserted that they have been linked to behavioral problems in children, citing a 2021 study from California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. But he warned that the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to FDA staffing could hinder the agency’s ability to enforce its new food safety rules.
Following in the footsteps of Canada and European nations, HHS and the FDA also announced they will be authorizing four natural dyes in the coming weeks to replace the newly banned petroleum-based dyes. Calcium phosphate, galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue, and butterfly pea flower extract are among the natural alternatives the FDA is reviewing.
“One by one, we’re gonna get rid of every ingredient and additive in food that we can legally address,” Kennedy said. “This is existential. We are spending as much as on mitochondrial disorders like diabetes as we spend on our military budget. We can’t continue to exist like this.”
“And the problem is, industry is making money keeping us sick.”