United States Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., alongside Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, unveiled a sweeping plan to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the American food supply.
This landmark announcement was made on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference, Dr. Makary emphasized the urgency of the initiative, “Today, the FDA is taking action to remove petroleum-based food dyes,” he began. “For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals,” Makary continued, referencing research linking these dyes to various health concerns, including ADHD, cancer, obesity, and gastrointestinal disorders. “As I know from my experience taking care of children as a doctor, you have to always listen to the mom.”
The initiative is part of a broader campaign dubbed Make America Healthy Again, which aims to align U.S. food safety regulations with more stringent international standards.
At the event, Dr. Mark Hyman, founder of Function Health and a prominent voice in wellness advocacy, lent his support.
“No parent should have to guess whether the food they’re giving their child contains substances banned in Europe allowed here,” he said. “No doctor should watch their patients struggle with chronic illness tied to ultra-processed food and be powerless to change it because our food policies are decades behind the science.”
RFK Jr. praised industry stakeholders for collaborating with the administration, “I want to commend food companies for working with us to achieve this agreement or settlement.” He recalled an earlier conversation with his team ahead of a meeting with food manufacturers: “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.”
He further pledged transparency and accessibility, stating, “We’re looking at labeling. We have to go to Congress for that, but one of the things that we’re going to do is post all the information we have about every additive on an open-source website. And we’re going to encourage companies … to develop apps in the private marketplace where mothers can go in and scan a barcode of every product in their grocery store and know what’s in them and what’s not.”
The dyes set to be phased out are prevalent in everyday products such as candies, cereals, snack foods, beverages, and even children’s vitamins.
“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,” Kennedy assured.
The press event drew a supportive crowd, including health influencers like “Food Babe” Vani Hari, Jessica Reed Krauss, and Del Bigtree, as well as several mothers and children advocating for cleaner food options.
This development follows the FDA’s January decision to ban Red Dye No. 3, or erythrosine, from consumables due to cancer risks identified in male lab rats.
“Evidence shows cancer in laboratory male rats exposed to high levels of FD&C Red No.3,” explained Jim Jones, FDA’s deputy commissioner for human foods. He added, “Importantly, the way that FD&C Red No. 3 causes cancer in male rats does not occur in humans.”
Petroleum-derived dyes have a long history in the food industry, originating from coal tar and now refined from crude oil.
The National Library of Medicine reports that food dye consumption in the U.S. has surged fivefold since 1955, with Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 dominating the market.
The new policy includes revoking approvals for Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, with plans to work closely with manufacturers to remove six other dyes — FD&C Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, and Blue No. 2 — from the market by the end of next year.
Reacting to the announcement, Christopher Gindlesperger of the National Confectioners Association reiterated the industry’s commitment to safety.
“FDA and regulatory bodies around the world have deemed our products and ingredients safe, and we look forward to working with the Trump administration and Congress on this issue. We are in firm agreement that science-based evaluation of food additives will help eliminate consumer confusion and rebuild trust in our national food safety system.”
He added, “We follow and will continue to follow regulatory guidance from the authorities in this space, because consumer safety is our chief responsibility and priority.”
