Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed large food corporations to remove artificial dyes from their foods or have the government step in to do it for them.

Kennedy on Monday asked leaders of PepsiCo, General Mills, Tyson Foods, Smucker’s, Kraft Heinz, and Kellogg’s, companies which he has accused of making people sick, for commitments to reduce food additives in their products. Removing artificial dyes from processed food is a pillar of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement.

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Kennedy “expressed the strong desire and urgent priority of the administration to remove FD&C colors from the food supply — and he wants this done before he leaves office,” Consumer Brands Association President Melissa Hockstad wrote in the readout sent to industry, referring to color additives used in foods, drugs, and cosmetics.

“He expects ‘real and transformative’ change by ‘getting the worst ingredients out’ of food,” the readout continues, with her quoting Kennedy.

Kennedy additionally said in the meeting that while he wanted to work with the industry, he also “made clear his intention to take action unless the industry is willing to be proactive with solutions.”

The Food and Drug Administration already banned Red Dye No. 3, which will take effect in 2027.

In a social media post afterward, Kennedy said he had a “great discussion … on advancing food safety and radical transparency to protect the health of all Americans, especially our children. We will strengthen consumer trust by getting toxins out of our food.”

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Later on Monday, Kennedy issued a directive ordering the FDA to revise a long-standing policy that allowed companies to decide that a new ingredient in the food supply was safe, without regulatory oversight.

The policy was originally put in place decades ago to allow food manufacturers to incorporate ingredients, such as vinegar or salt, that are widely considered to be well-understood and benign without needing to be reviewed, according to the New York Times. Since then, the designation, known as GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe,” has cast a wide net and included a far broader array of natural and synthetic additives.