Food dyes to be phased out by Trump administration in latest round of bans
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., together with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Mary Makary, announced a new round of food dye bans on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference here.
The agencies shared their intent to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply.
"Today, the FDA is taking action to remove petroleum-based food dyes," said Makary as he kicked off the press conference. "For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals. The scientific community has conducted a number of studies raising concerns about the correlation between petroleum-based synthetic dyes and several health conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, cancer, genomic disruption, and GI issues."
Makary outlined a number of steps that will be taken on food dyes. He also said, "As I know from my experience [in] taking care of children as a doctor, you have to always listen to the mom."
Dr. Mark Hyman, wellness advocate and founder of Function Health, also spoke in support of the initiative.
"No parent should have to guess whether the food they're giving their child contains substances banned in Europe allowed here," Hyman said.
"No doctor should watch their patients struggle with chronic illness tied to ultraprocessed food and be powerless to change it because our food policies are decades behind the science."
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took to the podium to applaud supporters of the MAHA movement.
"I want to commend food companies for working with us to achieve this agreement or settlement," he said.
"When I went in a few months ago to meet with food companies, I was talking with my staff about this … and I said, if they want to eat petroleum, they ought to eat it themselves at home and they shouldn't be feeding it to the rest of us."
The secretary added, "Four years from now, we're going to have most of these products off the market, or you will know about them when you're at the grocery store."
Wrote a person on YouTube as RFK Jr. was speaking on Tuesday, "Quick, everyone, invest in companies that produce natural dyes!"
The move on Tuesday marks "a major step forward in the administration’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again," according to a media advisory.
The dyes are commonly found in breakfast cereals, candy, snacks, beverages, vitamins and "other products [that are] aimed at children are colored with dyes," according to an article titled "The artificial food dye blues," shared by the National Library of Medicine.
Petroleum-based synthetic dyes are used to add color to food and drug items.
"Food dye consumption per person has increased fivefold in the United States since 1955, with three dyes — Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 — accounting for 90% of the dyes used in foods," the article noted.
Currently, there are nine petroleum-based chemical dyes allowed in U.S. food and 36 color additives approved, according to the FDA.
In January, the FDA banned red dye — called Red 3, or erythrosine — from foods, dietary supplements and ingested medicines after being linked to cancer, as Fox News Digital previously reported. Food manufacturers have until Jan. 2027 to remove that dye from their products, while drug manufacturers will have until the following year.
"Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3," said Jim Jones, the FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods, in a statement.
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Jones added, "Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans."
The synthetic dye, which is made from petroleum, is used as a color additive in food and ingested drugs to give them a "bright cherry-red color," according to an online statement from the FDA.
Nearly 3,000 foods are shown to contain Red No. 3, according to Food Scores, a database of foods compiled by the Environmental Working Group.
Artificial food colorings were originally manufactured from coal tar with most synthetic food dyes today made from petroleum, or crude oil, according to the American Chemical Society (ACS) website.
"Some critics will argue that eating oil is no better than eating coal. But the final products are rigorously tested to make sure they contain no traces of the original petroleum," adds the ACS site.
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Attendees of the Tuesday press conference included Jessica Reed Krauss, "Food Babe" Vari Hari, Casey Means, Del Bigtree and various "MAHA moms" — all supporters of RFK Jr. who showed up at his confirmation hearing earlier this year.
"The safety and health of all Americans is the most important role of any administration, and HHS will play a big role in helping ensure that everybody will be protected from harmful chemicals, pollutants, pesticides, pharmaceutical products and food additives that have contributed to the overwhelming health crisis in this country," President Donald Trump said in nominating RFK Jr. to the post of HHS secretary.
As the HHS noted in a press release on Tuesday, among the steps to be taken are "establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives; initiating the process to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings — Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B — within the coming months; and working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes — FD&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 food supply by the end of next year."
Melissa Rudy of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.