THE SET-UP: “Petroleum-based food dye” just sounds like a bad idea. Other than the petroleum and processed food industries, you’d be hard-pressed to find many advocates for pumping petroleum-based anything into the food supply.
So, RFK Jr.’s much-ballyhooed phase-out of petroleum-based food dyes should be a huge win for the Trump regime at a time when it really needs a win. MAGA isn’t working out … but at least we can be “healthy again” when the markets collapse or we’re detained at the border. But, like the bevy of unannounced trade deals that have supposedly been in the works throughout Trump’s tariff melodrama, RFK Jr.’s voluntary phase-out seems to be missing a key component—actual volunteers.
According to Bloomberg, the “understanding” RFK Jr. said he had with the food industry simply doesn’t exist. Bloomberg cited “multiple people familiar with the matter … who were not authorized to speak publicly,” they all “said there was no agreement.” When FDA Commissioner Marty Makary was asked about the lack of an agreement, he noted that it was “an understanding” and that “no one said there was an agreement.”
And now we understand why Dr. Peter Lurie of the Center for Science in the Public Interest was decidedly underwhelmed:
It’s disappointing that Secretary Kennedy and Commissioner Makary would hold a press conference to announce the elimination of food dyes—only for reporters to learn that the only real regulatory moves here are to move to ban two rarely used dyes, Citrus Red 2 and Orange B, “within the coming months.”
They announced no rulemaking of any sort to remove the remaining six numbered dyes. Instead, we are told that the administration has an unspecified “understanding” with some unspecified fraction of the food industry to eliminate dyes. We wish Kennedy and Makary well getting these unnecessary and harmful dyes out of the food supply and hope they succeed. Perhaps the food industry will seek to avoid a vindictive president’s wrath. But history tells us that relying on voluntary food industry compliance has all-too-often proven to be a fool’s errand.
What’s more troubling is that RFK Jr.’s effort to ensure America’s parents that “their kids are getting food that isn't poison” comes at the same time Trump’s EPA is “set to cancel tens of millions of dollars in grants to scientists studying environmental hazards faced by children in rural America, among other health issues.” As The New York Times reported one day before RFK Jr.’s announcement:
The grants are designed to address a range of issues, including improving the health of children in rural America who have been exposed to pesticides from agriculture and other pollution; reducing exposure to wildfire smoke; and preventing “forever chemicals” from contaminating the food supply.
And speaking of contamination of the food supply, the FDA also just announced its intent to offload the responsibility for food safety inspections to the states. It’s a move the food industry has sought for years. Per Food Drive:
The food industry in the past has pushed the FDA to rely more on states for routine inspections in order to address federal workforce and budget constraints. Groups including the Consumer Brands Association say states “provide additional inspection capacity and often can do inspections at a lower cost.”
The rub is that the states have to follow through. Steven Grossman, the former executive director of Alliance for a Stronger FDA, told Food Drive, “the viability of moving all routine inspections to states depends on whether states have the financial support and infrastructure ‘to go it alone’.
Going it alone seems to be the theme of the Trump Era. - jp
TITLE: FDA Announces Plan to Phase Out Synthetic, Petroleum-Based Food Dyes From U.S. Food Supply
https://www.food-safety.com/articles/10337-fda-announces-plan-to-phase-out-synthetic-petroleum-based-food-dyes-from-us-food-supply
EXCERPTS: Calling attention to the “patchwork of state legislation” on chemical food additives cropping up across the U.S., and the need to provide national regulatory consistency and clarity for the food and beverage industry, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D. presented the agency’s plan to phase out synthetic, petroleum-based food dyes from the food supply:
Establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petroleum-based dyes to natural alternatives
Initiating a process to revoke authorizations for two synthetic food colorings—Citrus Red 2 and Orange B—within the coming months
Working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes on the U.S. market—green dye 3, red dye 40, yellow dye 5, yellow dye 6, blue dye 1, and blue dye 2—by the end of 2026
Requesting that food companies remove red dye 3 from their products sooner than the current 2027–2028 deadline.
“These steps that we are taking mean that FDA is effectively removing all petroleum-based food dyes from the U.S. food supply,” remarked Dr. Makary.
FDA also intends to authorize four new natural-ingredient color additives in the coming weeks, while also accelerating the review and approval of others.
Additionally, the agency plans to collaborate with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research on how food additives impact children’s health and development.
“For the last 50 years, American children have been living in a ‘toxic soup’ of synthetic chemicals” Dr. Makary said, noting that other countries around the world are not as permissive with the ingredients allowed in their food as the U.S.
TITLE: What We Know about Artificial Food Dyes and Health as RFK, Jr., Declares a U.S. Ban
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-we-know-about-artificial-food-dyes-and-health-as-rfk-jr-declares-a-u-s/
EXCERPTS: The decision to ban Red No. 3 was based on a study in which male rats developed thyroid tumors after being exposed to high levels of the substance. Even though other studies in humans and animals failed to show similar results, the dye was banned under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act’s Delaney Clause, explains Tracy Crane, an associate professor of medical oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the University of Miami Health System.
“In the Delaney Clause, [proponents of the ban] were able to state that anything that caused cancer in humans or animals could be eliminated from the diet, and that’s what happened with Red No. 3,” says Crane, who had wondered if other food dyes would experience the same fate. “There are definitely studies for some of these [dyes] that are on the list that have shown cancer-causing properties in mice.”
Older animal studies have associated some blue, yellow and red dyes with risks of tumor development and neurotoxicity. Some research suggests the neurotoxicity may contribute to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. [Kathleen Melanson, a nutritional scientist at the University of Rhode Island], calls the evidence “mixed,” however. Direct exposure has only been tested in animals. Human data have been mostly limited to population or epidemiological studies—in which participants have been asked to recall and self-report the foods they’ve eaten. This has led some scientists to say there is not enough information to make conclusions about food dyes’ potential health threats.
An FDA research review on food dyes’ potential effects on children’s behavior also concluded that most children didn’t experience adverse effects, though some individuals may be sensitive to some dyes. The FDA states that color additives are safe to consume when they are used according to the agency’s regulations. And the International Association of Color Manufacturers, a group representing the global color industry, has previously said that the small levels of artificial food dyes that humans typically eat are generally safe. (At press time, the association has not responded to a request for comment from Scientific American.)
“The danger is always in the dose,” Melanson says.
Consuming a food with multiple dyes makes it difficult to know the total dose that has been ingested, Melanson says. The accumulative effects of a whole diet comprised of many different foods with artificial dyes, consumed over a lifetime, is even harder to assess. A disease like cancer takes a long time develop, Crane says, noting, “It’s very hard for us to really know what the direct impact of these food diets is.” She adds that not all the dyes are made the same and each may be processed in the body differently.
TITLE: Food Industry Reacts to Government’s Synthetic Dye Ban
https://progressivegrocer.com/food-industry-reacts-governments-synthetic-dye-ban
EXCERPTS: Reaction in the food industry was swift following the announcement on Earth Day, April 22. “While there is lack of scientific consensus to support such a move – food dyes are generally considered low risk for the broad population, dependent on dietary and consumption patterns – additional research is needed to better understand the impact of artificial food dyes on specific subgroups, including various life stages including pregnancy, birth to 24 months, and aging,” said Bryan Hitchcock, chief science and technology officer at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). “It is important to have a clear regulatory framework at the national level, and it is clear the FDA is elevating their engagement at a fast pace to, in part, satisfy consumer desire for a healthier food system. Leveraging science to understand complex and nuanced issues must play a prominent role in creating that healthier food framework.”
He added that IFT’s upcoming IFT FIRST event is such a forum, and stakeholders will use that opportunity to talk about how they intend to reformulate food products that require alternative ingredient solutions.
Melissa Hockstad, president of the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), said that the group’s members will work with the federal government on the use of synthetic dyes, after manufacturers have been dealing with various state laws for several years. "Consumer Brands has long asked HHS and FDA to reestablish themselves as the country's leading regulatory authority and we appreciate that the administration has reasserted their leadership in response to the myriad of state activity in the food regulation space," she said.
Category trade groups also responded to the news. “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. We follow and will continue to follow regulatory guidance from the authorities in this space, because consumer safety is our chief responsibility and priority,” declared the National Confectioners Association in a statement.