President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration announced plans on Tuesday to implement policies that will “phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply.”
In a Tuesday press release, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would be working to “revoke authorization” for two artificial food dyes and would be taking steps to “eliminate” six other artificial dyes. The department described Tuesday’s announcement as a “significant milestone” in the Trump administration’s plan to “Make America Healthy Again.”
“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said. “These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development.”
“That era is coming to an end,” Kennedy added. “We’re restoring gold-standard science, applying common sense, and beginning to earn back the public’s trust. And we’re doing it by working with industry to get these toxic dyes out of the foods our families eat every day.”
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The Food and Drug Administration confirmed in Tuesday’s press release that the eight petroleum-based food dyes that will be phased out by the Trump administration include Citrus Red No. 2, Orange B, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2.
According to The Daily Wire, food manufacturers in Canada and Europe currently use natural substitutes to color food instead of using artificial petroleum-based food dyes.
“Today, the FDA is asking food companies to substitute petrochemical dyes with natural ingredients for American children as they already do in Europe and Canada,” Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said in Tuesday’s press release. “We have a new epidemic of childhood diabetes, obesity, depression, and ADHD. Given the growing concerns of doctors and parents about the potential role of petroleum-based food dyes, we should not be taking risks and do everything possible to safeguard the health of our children.”
While health advocates have criticized artificial food dyes in the past, the Food and Drug Administration previously reported, “The totality of scientific evidence indicates that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives, but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them.”
