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Health Care
Health Care
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The Big Story
RFK Jr. wants to ban food dyes—but voluntarily
The Trump administration is working to strip out eight artificial food dyes from the food supply by 2026, according to a plan unveiled by the Department of Health and Human Services.
© AP
The dyes are heavily used in the U.S. and include Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Blue 1 and 2, and Green 3.
Eliminating petroleum-based dyes is a key objective of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again movement, and it marks the first major effort to overhaul the nation’s food supply.
Kennedy has blamed artificial dyes for a host of health problems and has accused the food industry of poisoning the nation’s children. In March, he met with the leaders of major food companies and demanded they eliminate artificial dyes within two years.
But the effort is essentially voluntary.
Kennedy said the agency has “an understanding” with the food industry and has not outlined a regulatory or legislative pathway. He hinted at potential labels on foods to indicate the presence of petroleum-based food dyes.
Remember: On Jan. 15, shortly before the second Trump administration began, the FDA revoked authorization for the use of Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs. Manufacturers who use this dye, which the FDA noted isn’t as widely used as other colorants, have until 2027 and 2028 to update their foods and ingested drugs respectively.
Makary said Tuesday that he is requesting the FDA speed up this deadline.
When asked if he credited the Biden administration for starting this initiative at the federal level to remove food dyes, Kennedy said he did, though added, “I wish it hadn’t taken him to one week before I came into office.”
Pushback: Consumer advocacy groups have long said chemical additives serve little purpose in food additives. But some noted Kennedy’s plan was short on details about how HHS would enforce compliance if food companies failed to remove the dyes by the end of 2026.
Food companies and industry groups have pushed back on Kennedy’s claims, though none on Tuesday outright slammed the effort.
“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,” Christopher Gindlesperger, senior vice president of public affairs and communications at the National Confectioners Association’s said.
Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.
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Essential Reads
How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond:
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FDA announces plans to phase out petroleum based food dyes
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday announced actions to phase out the use of petroleum based food dyes in U.S. food products, citing concerns over potential health impacts on children. FDA Commissioner Martin Makary pointed to studies linked petroleum based dyes to ADHD, obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance and cancer in his remarks on Tuesday. He announced the FDA would be initiating a plan to revoke the authorization …
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A Republican senator on Tuesday indicated disagreement with at least some of the firings and closures being made by the Trump administration in the name of efficiency. In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) pushed back on decisions that cut an office and workers seeking to support coal miners’ health. “I believe in the President’s vision to right size our …
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What People Think
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