HHS, FDA Unveil Plan to Phase Out Food Dyes

MARY CHASTAIN APR 23, 2025 9:42 AM

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began the process of banning food dyes.

The plan includes:

• 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.
• 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.
• Authorizing four new natural color additives in the coming weeks, while also accelerating the review and approval of others.
• Partnering with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct comprehensive research on how food additives impact children’s health and development.
• Requesting food companies to remove FD&C Red No. 3 sooner than the 2027-2028 deadline previously required.

The FDA will review the following natural alternatives: calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue, and butterfly pea flower extract.

“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “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.”

Many popular foods and drinks include those six food dyes:

• Mountain Dew
• Jolly Rancher
• Skittles
• Takis
• Froot Loops
• Pop-Tarts
• Doritos
• Cheetos

“Today, the FDA is asking food companies to substitute petrochemical dyes with natural ingredients for American children as they already do in Europe and Canada,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH. “We have a new epidemic of childhood diabetes, obesity, depression, and ADHD. Given the growing concerns of doctors and parents about the potential role of petroleum-based food dyes, we should not be taking risks and do everything possible to safeguard the health of our children.”

The United Kingdom bans six artificial dyes and has strict regulations on Yellow 5 and Yellow 6.

The European Union hasn’t banned artificial dyes, but restricts some and requires warning labels.

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