RFK Jr. unveils the plan to eliminate 8 artificial food coloring in the United States

The Ministry of Health and Social Services and Food and Drug Administration announced on Tuesday a series of measures aimed at eliminating eight artificial and colors from the American food supply by the end of next year.

Speaking at a press conference, HHS secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said agencies will work with food companies to eliminate product dyes.

“I just want to urge you all, it’s not time to stop; it’s time to redouble your efforts, because we have now on the run, and we will win this battle,” Kennedy told a crowd of “Make America Healthy Again” to the supporters at the press conference. “And in four years, we will have most of these products out of the market, or you will know them when you go to the grocery store.”

At the press conference, the FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary said that agencies were trying to revoke the authorization of two synthetic food dyes and to work with the food industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes used in cereals, ice cream, snacks, yogurts and even more.

“Today, the FDA is taking action to eliminate oil-based food from the American food supply and medicines. Over the past 50 years, American children are increasingly living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals,” he told journalists.

In January, former President Joe Biden began the process of banning an artificial dye, Red No. 3, which will have to be removed from food by January 2027 and drugs by 2028, because it turned out to cause cancer in the rat. The FDA said on Tuesday that it asked food companies to accelerate the abolition of red. N ° 3.

Federal officials take measures to make authorization from two rarely used synthetic dietary colors – Citrus Red N ° 2 and Orange B – in the coming months. In addition, the other six oil -based dyes that federal health agencies seek to eliminate by the end of next year are green n ° 3, red n ° 40, yellow n ° 5, yellow n ° 6, blue n ° 1 and blue n ° 2.

The FDA also takes measures to authorize four new natural additives, officials announced on Tuesday.

Kennedy: “We have an understanding” with food companies

The plan, however, depends on an “understanding” with large food companies that they will voluntarily remove them to meet consumer demand, Kennedy said on Tuesday.

HHS and the FDA call for the food industry to “establish a national standard and a calendar … to pass from oil-based coloring to natural alternatives”, according to a press release sent on Tuesday afternoon.

It is not yet clear which mechanism for applying the Kennedy law will seek to implement new changes.

When asked if the food companies, which were not present at the press conference, would follow the suggested changes, Kennedy said: “We do not agree; we have an understanding.”

Makary, the head of the FDA, continued saying that the agency planned to work with the food industry instead of bringing the congress. “We had wonderful meetings with the food industry,” he said. “They are impatient to do so.”

Speaking with ABC News after the announcement, Makary maintained that the administration would reach its “daring objective” despite the immediate plans for new regulations to force this decision.

“It is not necessary to have a regulation or a status when companies volunteer to do so,” said Makary. “We will use all the tools in the toolbox to make sure that this is done at best our capacities.”

But the international association of color manufacturers, the professional association for the color additive industry, which includes both natural and synthetic dyes, published a statement after the press conference questioning the proposed calendar.

“Need reformulation by the end of 2026 ignores scientific evidence and underestimate the complexity of food production. This process is neither simple nor immediate, and the resulting disturbances will limit access to familiar and affordable grocery stores,” the group said in the press release.

The Consumer Brands Association, however, which represents the manufacturers of packaged food and drinks, said that its members would work with the administration to take measures on the priorities of the dietary dye, quoting the difficulty of joining a “patchwork” of different state laws.

“Consumer Brands has long asked HHS and the FDA to recover as the main regulatory authority in the country and we appreciate that the administration has reaffirmed their leadership in response to the myriad of state activities in the food regulation space,” said ABC president Melissa Hockstad, in a statement after Tuesday’s announcement.

Memo reveals food companies ready to voluntarily eliminate dyes

The calendar proposed to eliminate the synthetic dyes presented on Tuesday comes after Kennedy told the leaders of the food industry at a meeting last month that they wanted their business to remove the artificial dyes of their products by the end of its four -year term, according to a memo describing the meeting, which was obtained by ABC News.

A few days after this meeting, which included leaders of Pepsico and General Mills, the Consumer Brands Association indicated that its members would be willing to voluntarily make the changes sought by Kennedy, according to a memo of March 20 sent to HHS officials obtained by ABC News.

The two -page proposal has commitments that food companies were ready to make – including efforts within 30 days to start reformulating food to eliminate artificial dyes.

The note did not contain an explicit commitment to delete all artificial dyes by the end of 2026, as Kennedy asked on Tuesday, but the proposal indicated that the members of the ABC were determined to “support the actions of the agency”.

The proposal has also described a commitment to companies to provide food for school lunches that do not include artificial and dyes.

In exchange for work to withdraw the dyes of food, the commercial group asked the Trump administration to work against state legislation which created a patchwork of laws around food colors – which could cause more restrictive prohibitions on other chemicals – not just food colors – in certain states.

“President Trump and secretary Kennedy must contact the governors and legislatures of the States that the administration takes daring and transformative actions and continuous activity at the level of the President’s management and increasing costs for consumers,” the commercial group in memo wrote. “A federal solution does not make sense under a state patchwork regime.”

Already, the red and blue states have taken matters into hand to eliminate the artificial food dyes of certain foods. Virginia-Western and California have adopted laws to prohibit a handful of dietary dyes of school lunches, with plans to extend the ban to a wider level and on a state scale.

In Virginia-Western, the prohibition of artificial dyes in school lunch will come into force in August, which makes it the first state of the country to implement such constraints. In California, it will take effect in 2028.

Twenty-six other states, from Iowa to Washington and Texas to Vermont, envisage similar legislation concerning the prohibition of food dyes or other chemical additives in food, according to a list compiled by the environmental working group, a advocacy organization which focuses on chemicals and toxins.

What are the risks to health?

Candles for breakfast cereals, synthetic food dyes are in a wide range of products that Americans consume. Studies suggest that their vibrant color makes food more attractive and could even increase appetite.

Makary’s assertive studies have found a link between oil-based synthetic dyes and health problems, including attention / hyperactivity deficit disorder, obesity, diabetes, cancer and gastrointestinal problems.

“Why do we take a bet?” He said. “While American children are sick and suffering, 41% of children have at least one state of health, and one in five is under medication. The answer is no more ozempic, more ADHD medication and more antidepressants. There is a role for these drugs, but we must examine the underlying deep causes.”

But scientists say that health evidence is not so clear.

“There are animal studies that show that food colors have been associated with results such as cancer,” said the new medical correspondent ABC, Dr. Darien Sutton. “But the FDA maintains that these studies have not shown sufficient evidence that this damage could be done in humans.”

All dyes have the potential to trigger allergic reactions for a small minority. Several dyes have been linked to hyperactivity and behavioral problems in children or have proven to cause cancer in mice or rats – but none has shown that it causes cancer in humans.

“When you look at the overall evidence, it is difficult to see a clear cause and effect, but if there is no clear advantage when adding something like a food additive other than making food better, then let’s just discuss it,” said Sutton.

Although the health effects of dyes are not fully understood, many other countries have prohibited additives or food packaging labels required on health risks.