‘Always Listen to the Mom’: U.S. to Phase Out Artificial Dyes Used in Food Products

by Suzanne Burdick, Ph.D.

 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today said it will phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from U.S. foods and medications.

In a press conference late this afternoon, Dr. Marty Makary, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined six steps the FDA is taking to phase out the dyes:

1. Establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives.
2. Initiating the process to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings — Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B — within the coming months.
3. Working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes — 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 — from the food supply by the end of next year.
4. Authorizing four new natural color additives in the coming weeks, while also accelerating the review and approval of others.
5. Partnering with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct comprehensive research on how food additives impact children’s health and development.
6. Requesting food companies to remove FD&C Red No. 3 sooner than the 2027-2028 deadline previously required.

“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,” Makary said in a press release.

At today’s event, Makary pointed out that numerous studies, including one published in The Lancet, have shown that artificial colors in children’s diet caused an increase in hyperactivity.

“Moms and dads have also tried to raise the issue,” Makary said. “Some parents have observed that these chemicals cause hyperactivity — and even aggressive behavior — and that it subsides when the chemicals are removed from the diet of the child and sometimes even reoccurs when those petroleum-based chemical dyes are reintroduced.”

Makary said his practice as a doctor taught him to “always listen to the mom.”

Other studies have shown that artificial dyes “mess with the child’s developing brain” by making ultraprocessed foods look attractive, “even when the child already feels full,” Makary said…

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE… (childrenshealthdefense.org)

 

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