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U.S. health officials said they plan to phase out eight petroleum-based artificial colors from the nation’s food supply, triggering an overhaul of scores of brightly hued products on American store shelves.
Details of the plan are expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, who have advocated the change as part of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
The officials are expected to spell out a regulatory path for removing the color additives, a process that typically requires public notice and agency review. It would be a sweeping change for U.S. food producers, who would likely replace the dyes with natural substitutes.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children. The FDA has maintained that the approved dyes are safe and that “the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.”
The FDA currently allows 36 food color additives, including eight synthetic dyes. In January, the agency announced that the dye known as Red 3—used in candies, cakes and some medications—would be banned by 2028 because it caused cancer in laboratory rats.
The dyes Kennedy wants to remove are used widely in the U.S. foods. In Canada and in Europe—where artificial colors are required to carry warning labels—manufacturers use natural substitutes.
Some U.S. states, such as California and West Virginia, recently enacted laws that ban artificial colors and other additives from school meals, and in some cases, the broader food supply.
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Need to do more to get the poison out of our food, but this is a start.
I completely agree… the sooner, the better for all.
When Canada and Europe require higher standards than people here, you know there’s a discernible set of issues. Good for Kennedy.
Can’t say I disagree with this, but Kennedy is still a blubbering moron.
That doesn’t matter, just get the job done doing what you said you would do and do it quicker.
Kennedy is not wrong on this – too bad he’s such a quack on everything else.
If a democrat tried to do this, republicans would be crying “socialism.” This is long overdue regardless.
but it’s not a Democrat doing this so you’re going to have to make a smart comment about it.
I encourage you to look up RFK JR’s historical party affiliation and recent behind the scenes comments regarding Trump, Rhea. Thank you for acknowledging my intelligence.
I was far from acknowledging your intelligence, I was just sitting here thinking about your extreme case of TDS and if it’s so far gone that it’s untreatable.