Together with US Health and Human Services (HHS), Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty McCurry, we announce the FDA’s intention to remove it from the US food supply, “petroleum-based synthetic” food dyes. Massachusetts, USA, April 22, 2025.
Brian Snyder | Reuters
Fluorescent red from Flamin’Hot Cheetos, vibrant blue-green from Mountain Dew Baja Blast, and colorful rainbows from Skittles may soon turn dark.
The Food and Drug Administration is phased out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes by the end of next year, the agency announced Tuesday.
“For the past 50 years, children in America have been living more and more in toxic soups of synthetic chemicals,” FDA commissioner Marty McCurry said at a press conference.
Food and beverage companies use additives such as Red Dye 40 to provide bright shades that attract shoppers with grains, chips, sports drinks and other products. However, repulsion against artificial colorants has been brewed in the United States for over a decade.
This change will affect large quantities of food giants. PepsiCo, General Millswith Mars WK Kellogg. The industry has argued that claims about the dangers of artificial dyes have no evidence to support the ban.
As of Tuesday, the FDA and the food industry have no formal agreement to remove artificial dyes, but instead have “understanding.”
“There are so many tools we can use at our disposal,” McCurry said. “I believe in love. Let’s start in a friendly way and see if we can do this without any changes to the statutory or regulations. But we’ve explored all the tools in our toolbox to make sure this is done very quickly. And they want to do that.
According to Makary, the FDA has taken several actions, including setting a “national standard” and timeline for the food industry to move from petroleum-based food dyes to natural alternatives. The agency is also beginning a process to revoke approvals for synthetic food coloring, including those not yet produced, within the next few weeks.
He added that by the end of the year, the FDA is eliminating the remaining six synthetic dyes remaining on the market from the US food supply, especially red dye 40, yellow dye 6, blue dye 1, blue dye 2 and green dye 2. McCurry.
“Companies currently using oil-based red dyes should try watermelon juice or beet juice. If you are currently combining oil-based yellow chemicals with red dyes, try carrot juice,” he said.
Commissioner Marty McCurry of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) holds research from the Lancet during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services held on April 22, 2025, during an announcement of the FDA’s intention to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the country’s food supply.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
McCurry added that the agency is planning to allow four additional color additives using natural ingredients in the coming weeks while also promoting the review and approval of other natural ingredients.
McCurry quoted Lancet Research It concluded that artificial colours in diets “enhance hyperactivity.”
“FDA’s F stands for food,” he said. “There are no ingredients that explain the chronic disease outbreak in children right now. To be honest, taking oil-based food dyes out of the food supply isn’t a silver bullet that will immediately make American children healthy, but that’s an important step.”
Last month, Kennedy told top food executives that removing artificial dyes from the food system was an urgent priority for the Trump administration. Meeting attendees include PepsiCo North America, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Tyson Foods, WK Kellogg, JM Smacker and CEOs of the Consumer Brands Association, the industry’s leading trading group.
Kennedy uses Kellogg’s flute loop as his main example of railing against artificial colorants.
It is unclear exactly how removing dyes will affect a company, but it is a major effort to overhaul the recipe. Additionally, new looks can affect how consumers perceive their products.
McCurry said elimination of oil-based food dyes would not raise food prices and refer to other countries that have made similar moves. However, synthetic dyes are generally more cost-effective than natural alternatives, often in bulk to achieve vibrant colors, allowing them to carry higher production costs. Report and One natural ingredient manufacturer.
Previously, pushbacks from consumer advocates led some companies to coordinate their formulas and drop artificial dyes without government intervention. 2015, Craft Heinz I changed the trademark Mac and cheese recipe to use the same natural colours found in the European version of the product.
However, changes are not always sticking. In 2017, General Mills reversed the course and artificially brought the coloured Trix cereal back to the shelf. Naturally stained cereals with turmeric, radish and purple carrots were less lively and customers rejected the new version.
Kennedy is at the helm of a $1.7 trillion agency that oversees food and tobacco products, vaccines and other drugs, scientific research, public health infrastructure and government-funded healthcare. Just two months later, he significantly changed the country’s federal health agency.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will leave the stage after discussing the results of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) latest Autism and Developmental Disorder Surveillance (ADDM) network survey at the U.S. DC, Washington, DC, April 16, 2025 Department of Health and Human Services.
Elizabeth Franz | Reuters
In March, he announced plans to cut 10,000 full-time employees across various departments and consolidate the departments. He reduced key parts of HHS, including the offices that work to handle HIV prevention efforts and eliminate medical disparities. The Food and Drug Administration is the same Suspend quality control programs Reuters reported Tuesday that it was to test liquid milk and other dairy products as the food safety and nutrition sector capacity declined.
Kennedy’s so-called Make America Healthy Platform argues that corrupt alliances of drug companies and food companies, as well as the federal health agencies that regulate them, will not make Americans healthier. He has been vocal about ending the chronic disease epidemic in children and adults, and has spoken out about making nutritious foods rather than the central medicine of that goal.
In January, before President Donald Trump or Kennedy took office, the Food and Drug Administration revoked approval for one type of red food dye called Red No. 3. Dyes are known to cause cancer in laboratory animals, but food manufacturers were allowed to use it for years as scientists didn’t believe it caused a human cancer risk.
At least one company has benefited from the ban on artificial dyes. McCormickhelps businesses to fine-tune their flavors and formulas.
“Now, reorganization activities are part of the work that we’ve always done on a customer base, and we’ve been doing that for quite some time, but we’re looking at check-ups in our reformulament activities,” McCormick CEO Brendan Foley told analysts about the company’s revenue call in late March, hoping that the company will help reduce both artificial colors and sodium from its products.
