Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's quest to "Make America Healthy Again" grew far more substantial on Tuesday, with the announcement that the federal government will eliminate all petroleum-based synthetic food dyes by the end of 2026. The announcement came at a Washington DC news conference, with RFK Jr joined by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya. The podium was flanked by "MAHA Moms" and their children; the moms are a coalition of outspoken advocates of the Trump administration's health agenda.  

Kennedy framed the move against artificial, petroleum-based dyes using forceful language: 

“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent. 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. 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.”

The first two dyes in the crosshairs are Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B. The FDA is initiating a process to revoke their authorizations "within the coming months." The FDA will also pressure food producers to eradicate Red No. 3 earlier than Jan 15, 2027. The Biden administration had already set that deadline for its removal from foods and beverages, after long-running concerns about its potential to cause cancer and interfere with hormonal functions. The FDA will also pursue the removal of the remaining six previously-approved petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026.  

Here's a small sampling of foods these artificial dyes are used in today:

• Blue No. 1: M&Ms, blue sports drinks
• Blue No. 2: Cereals, candy 
• Citrus Red No 2: Enhancing the color of real orange rinds 
• Green No. 3: Mint candy, Sour Patch Kids
• Orange B: Hot dog and sausage casings
• Red Dye 40: Flamin' Hot Cheetos, M&Ms, sports drinks, cereals 
• Yellow No. 5: Mountain Dew, Froot Loops, Doritos
• Yellow No. 6: Reese's Pieces, Cheetos, 
• Red Dye No. 3: Drinks, cakes, cookies, frozen desserts, frosting, icing 

“For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals,” said Makary. Justifying the sweeping change, the former Johns Hopkins surgeon pointed to a Lancet study that found artificial colors cause "increased hyperactivity" in a study of 3-year-olds and 8- and a 9-year-old children. He also cautioned that there's more to America's health problems than petroleum-based food dyes: 

"There’s no one ingredient that accounts for the child chronic disease epidemic. And let’s be honest, taking petroleum-based food dyes out of the food supply is not a silver bullet that will instantly make America’s children healthy, but it is one important step.”

While noting that the FDA and Congress can force the desired changes, Makary said the drive to remove the dyes will initially take a collaborative approach with the food industry. “There are a number of tools at our disposal. I believe in love, let’s start in a friendly way and see if we can do this without any statutory or regulatory changes." 

Former FDA senior adviser and current Harvard professor Jerod Mande thinks Kennedy and Makary have a good chance of pulling it off. “It will meet some resistance, but since companies already eliminate these additives in other countries, I don’t expect a big fight," he told NBC News.

To facilitate the momentous change, the FDA will authorize four new naturally-sourced food dyes in the upcoming weeks, including calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue and FDA-approved butterfly pea flower extract, which achieves blue and purple shades. Makary also illustrated other workarounds: “For companies that are currently using petroleum based red dye, try watermelon juice or beet juice. For companies currently combining petroleum-based yellow chemical and red dyes together, try carrot juice."

The transition will complicate the lives of countless brand managers across the food and beverage industry, with potential hits to profitability in the offing. Some brands have previously attempted their own voluntary removals of synthetic colors with bad outcomes. General Mills, for example, tried using natural dyes on its Trix cereal, but with the colors far less bold and people even complaining about the taste, sales waned -- and the company went back to synthetic dyes.  

CNBC reports that at least one company is poised to profit from the elimination of petroleum-based dyes: global seasoning and flavoring heavyweight McCormick, which helps brands achieve their desired tastes. "Reformulation activity has always been a part of the work that we do with our customer base, and we’ve been doing that for quite some time, but we are seeing a tick up in reformulation activity,” CEO Brendan Foley said on a March conference call.  

While the libertarian crowd may wince at the idea of governments telling companies what ingredients they can use, many of them will no doubt feel some relief at the end result. As for the choices food companies make, Kennedy quipped, “If they want to add petroleum, [if] they want to eat petroleum, 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."