Hope is being restored in America as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. works hard to eliminate toxic ingredients that have been allowed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On Tuesday, RFK announced that eight artificial food dyes are to be eliminated from medication and food by the end of 2026.
The artificial dyes are used to make foods look more appealing as well as to offset color loss due to exposure to light and temperature extremes.
For YEARS, advocates like Kennedy have raised an alarm on these toxic additives that contribute to our nation’s “chronic disease epidemic.” Now, as health secretary, he finally has a platform to make these necessary changes.
USA Today reports:
The dyes that will be phased out in less than two years are FD&C Blue Nos. 1 and 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow Nos 5 and 6. In the coming months, the process will begin to revoke authorization of Orange B, Citrus Red No. 2, according to the HHS.
Within weeks, the FDA will also authorize four new natural color additives and partner with the National Institutes of Health to conduct research on “how food additives impact children’s health and development,” according to the HHS.
Under the Biden administration, the FDA had already mandated by January 15, 2027, a ban on Red Dye No. 3, found in candy, desserts, and some medications. HHS said on April 22 that the Trump administration is requesting food companies move that deadline forward.
Kennedy in the past has linked food dyes and additives to ADHD and chronic diseases, such as obesity. At the April 22 press conference, the Trump Cabinet member rattled off a litany of diseases and neurological disorders and appeared to link them to chemicals being added by the food and drug industries.
BREAKING!🚨 “HHS, FDA to Phase Out Petroleum-Based Synthetic Dyes in Nation’s Food Supply”
During todays HHS briefing, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced three important steps they’re taking to make America healthy again:
1. Establish National standard and timeline for… pic.twitter.com/CwwLzbIfbs
— America First News (@RealAmFirstNews) April 22, 2025
In March, Kennedy had a private meeting with leaders of several food companies – including PepsiCo, General Mills, Tyson Foods, Kraft, Heinz and Kellogg’s. In that meeting, he demanded that all artificial dyes would “have to be out within two years.”
On Tuesday, he recalled a conversation with his staffer about the meeting, in which he suggested a reluctance by the CEOs to ditch petroleum-based dyes.
“I said, if they wanna add petroleum, they want to eat petroleum,” RFK said. “They ought to add it themselves at home, but they shouldn’t be feeding it to the rest of us without our knowledge or consent.”
He also noted how there are “shockingly few studies” on the safety of the artificial food dyes and certain other ingredients due to conflicts of interest at the federal agencies he now oversees.
A study by the California’s Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 linked consumption of synthetic food dyes to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral problems in some children. Similar studies also previously prompted the European Union to restrict food coloring.
“Evidence shows that synthetic food dyes are associated with adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in some children,” said California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Director Dr. Lauren Zeise. “With increasing numbers of U.S. children diagnosed with behavioral disorders, this assessment can inform efforts to protect children from exposures that may exacerbate behavioral problems.”
California banned six of those dyes from use in public school lunches last year. Leave it to one of the most liberal states in the country to actually step up and work towards bettering the food supply.
