May 2025: TRUMP PRESIDENCY RFK plans to phase out synthetic food dyes by 2027

RFK plans to phase out synthetic food dyes by 2027
"The U.S. is calling on food companies to remove all synthetic food dyes by 2027.
Announcing the move, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said food companies are open to the change.
Here's the evidence on synthetic dyes and health issues like cancer and ADHD.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday that he has ordered food companies to remove eight petroleum-based dyes from their products.
Kennedy said brands will have until 2027 to voluntarily reformulate their food and drinks using natural dyes like carmine, turmeric, and beets — or add warning labels to their products.
The move comes three months after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned Red 3, shortly before the Trump administration took office.
The eight dyes under scrutiny today include Citrus Red No 2 and Orange B, which are not widely produced. Those two should be dropped with immediate effect, FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary said.
Others are more commonly used. Red 40 is used in Gatorade, Doritos, and Skittles. Yellow 5 is used in Vigo's saffron rice, Fruit Loops, and some mustards. Blue 1 is used in Mountain Dew Baja Blast. Green 3 is used in Nyquil.

The benefit of using these petroleum-based dyes is economic — they're cheaper, stable year-round, and less prone to fading than fruits, vegetables, and spices. Hydrocarbons, extracted during petroleum refinement, are fused with salts to create a vibrant color.
Kennedy, who made synthetic food dyes a central concern in his presidential campaign of 2024, thanked "warrior moms who power the MAHA movement" for galvanizing political appetite for this change.
During the press conference, Makary said "kids have been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals." He cited studies that found links between synthetic food dyes and health issues like ADHD and cancer.
Here's what we know about the link between synthetic food dyes and health problems:
2021, researchers in the California EPA reviewed the available evidence on seven artificial food dyes. They concluded that synthetic dyes can affect behavior in some kids.
In the late 1980s, scientists found male lab rats exposed to high levels of Red 3 developed thyroid tumors.
Based on that study, the FDA declared Red 3 a carcinogen in 1990, and announced a ban on the dye in cosmetics." 

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