In addition to his fight against ultra-processed foods and seed oils, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing to ban artificial food dyes from the nation’s food supply — and many states are following suit.
Last week, West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed into law a bill that was passed earlier this month by state lawmakers banning seven food dyes commonly found in food products and drugs. The ban applies to Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3 along with the preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben.
“West Virginia ranks at the bottom of many public health metrics, which is why there's no better place to lead the Make America Healthy Again mission,” Morrisey said in a statement obtained by CBS News, citing RFK Jr.’s ongoing campaign. “By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we're taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges.”
Starting Aug. 1, the dyes will be banned from meals served through school nutrition programs, according to the governor's office. On Jan. 1, 2028, the dyes and the two preservatives will not be allowed in drugs and foods sold in the state.
According to the Environmental Working Group, a food safety advocacy group, 58 states have introduced legislation targeting artificial food dyes and food chemicals. Twenty of those states — including Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia and New York — have introduced nearly 40 bills within the first three months of this year. Arizona’s H.B. 2164, for example, would prohibit public schools from serving or selling foods containing the following additives: Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, potassium bromate, propylparaben, titanium dioxide and brominated vegetable oil (BVO). Additionally, New York’s S. 1239 and A.B. 1556 would ban the sale, distribution and production of food products containing Red No. 3, potassium bromate and propylparaben. It would also ban public schools from serving or selling foods containing Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3.
The recent legislation comes after California enacted the California Food Safety Act back in 2023. The law prohibits the use of four harmful additives — potassium bromate, propylparaben, Red No. 3 and BVO — in food products sold, manufactured or distributed in the state. Last year, California also enacted the California School Food Safety Act, which bans Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3 from food served in public schools.
Concerns about artificial food dyes have regained traction in the wake of the Trump administration. RFK Jr. and supporters claim that synthetic dyes are both unnecessary and harmful, pointing to reports linking such dyes to behavioral problems in children.
Most recently, RFK Jr. urged CEOs of several food industry giants — including PepsiCo, General Mills, Smucker's, Kraft Heinz, and Kellogg's — to eliminate artificial food dyes from their products. The secretary “expressed the strong desire and urgent priority of the administration to remove [Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act, or FD&C] colors from the food supply,” said Melissa Hockstad, president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, in a readout first reported by Food Fix. RFK Jr. reportedly “wants this done before he leaves office” and expects “real and transformative” change by “getting the worst ingredients out” of food.
The readout also included a statement from Kyle Diamantas, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who attended the closed-door meeting. Diamantas “recognized the industry can’t [eliminate harmful colorants and additives from the food supply] alone and that FDA will step up and work with [industry and stakeholders] to reinforce the need for a federal framework and avoid state patchworks,” per the readout.
Want more great food writing and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food's newsletter, The Bite.
The FDA permits the use of 36 color additives in food and drinks, including nine artificial dyes. They include Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Orange B, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Red No. 3 and Citrus Red 2. In January, the FDA banned Red No. 3 from the nation’s food supply in response to a 2022 color additive petition filed by two dozen food safety and health advocates. The petition found that Red No. 3 causes cancer in male laboratory rats exposed to high levels of the dye. Although similar effects were not observed in other animals and humans, they were enough for the FDA to issue a ban.
Red No. 3 — which gives certain foods and drinks a bright, cherry-red hue — is commonly found in candies, artificial fruit products, processed meats, frozen desserts and baked goods and snacks.
“Manufacturers who use FD&C Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs will have until January 15, 2027, or January 18, 2028, respectively, to reformulate their products,” the FDA said in a statement. “Consumers could see FD&C Red No. 3 as an ingredient in a food or drug product on the market past the effective date in the order if that product was manufactured before the effective date.”
Shares