US Health Secretary Kennedy plans to phase out 8 commonly used food dyes

In his first attempt to significantly change the nation’s food supply, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr will direct food manufacturers to phase out eight petroleum-based food dyes that are found in hundreds of thousands of grocery-store staples, the Department of Health and Human Services said April on 21.

The plan, expected to be described in detail at an event in Washington on April 22, targets dyes used in cereals, sports drinks and a host of other foods. The department has not outlined a regulatory path to enforce the changes, but wants them to be made by the end of 2026.

Health advocates have long criticised food dyes, citing a limited body of research connecting them to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioural problems in children.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates about 80 per cent of the nation’s food supply, banned Red Dye No. 3 shortly before President Donald Trump took office, after studies connected it to cancer in laboratory animals. That followed a 2023 California law that banned the dye.

The eight dyes Mr Kennedy wants to phase out are widely used within the United States, but products made for the European markets – where companies are required to use warning labels if they add them – and Canadian markets already use natural colour substitutes. The Health Secretary is expected to announce the approval of additional natural dyes at the April 22 event.

Mr Kennedy, long a champion of removing certain chemicals from the food supply, made food dyes an issue as soon as he was selected to head the health department, pointing out that in Canada, Froot Loops gets its bright colours from blueberries and carrots instead of the Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Blue No. 1 in the American version.

Major food companies such as General Mills, the Kraft Heinz Company and PepsiCo have argued that there has not been enough science connecting ingredients with health outcomes.

The Centre for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group, applauded the move.

But its president, Dr Peter G. Lurie, warned in a statement that recent FDA staff cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency and Mr Kennedy could hamper efforts to keep the food supply safe: “It will be harder now for FDA to police other food additives, inspect factories, or perform just about any function than it was four months ago.” NYTIMES