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Washington Post
23-04-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
What the science says about artificial food dyes
The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that it plans to phase out petroleum-based food dyes from the nation's food supply. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, has called the dyes 'poison' and long blamed artificial additives for chronic disease and illness in the United States. Companies add dyes to food, such as candy, cereals, drinks and snacks, for brighter, attractive colors. The dyes are either natural, such as red beet juice, or synthetic. 'The ingredients used in America's food supply have been rigorously studied following an objective science and risk-based evaluation process and have been demonstrated to be safe,' Melissa Hockstad, the chief executive of Consumer Brands Association, a food industry trade group, said in a statement. 'Removing these safe ingredients does not change the consumer packaged goods industry's commitment to providing safe, affordable and convenient product choices to consumers.' But consumer advocacy groups said there is sufficient evidence that the dyes may cause some harm to some children. They argue that artificial dyes are not worth the potential risk given their lack of nutritional value. 'From the vantage point of consumers, it boils down to why do we want to take a chance on these things when it comes to the health of our children?' said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports. 'Even if it doesn't technically point to causing cancer, there is risk involved in terms of how it impacts neurobehavior in children.' The Washington Post spoke with food scientists and nutrition experts to answer questions about the synthetic dyes in food. In January, under the Biden administration, the FDA banned red dye No. 3 in food. The dye, which gives food a cherry-red color, has been linked to cancer in animals. In 1990, the agency banned the use of the red dye in cosmetics because preliminary animal research suggested a link to thyroid cancer. The FDA has said there's no evidence that ingesting the coloring causes cancer in humans. The agency said its decision was based on a federal law prohibiting additives found to cause cancer in humans or animals at any dose. In some studies, synthetic food dyes used in the U.S. have been associated with hyperactivity and behavioral effects in children. In 2021, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment in California published a review of seven food dyes such as red dye No. 3, red dye No. 40 and yellow dye No. 5. The review concluded that the consumption of food with added dyes is associated with hyperactivity, restlessness and other neurobehavioral problems in some children, though sensitivity can vary. 'They're not needed,' said Alyson Mitchell, a professor and food chemist at the University of California at Davis and a co-author of the California review. 'They don't present the consumer with any benefit. Only a potential risk.' But some researchers disagreed on whether the existing evidence is conclusive and said it's hard to isolate the effect of one ingredient or additive because we eat a combination of various foods every day. Research hasn't found a plausible mechanism for how synthetic dyes could affect the behavior of children, and the findings tend to be based on parents' observations 'rather than some strict criteria that wouldn't be subject to bias,' said Ronald Kleinman, physician-in-chief emeritus at Mass General Hospital for Children. 'This is an example where we really don't have any evidence that the natural food colorings are really any better than the synthetic food colorings,' Kleinman said. 'There are so many other things for us to consider in the general health of children that food colorings are way down on the list.' The FDA has previously said it would examine potential effects of color additives on children's behavior. The 'totality of scientific evidence' indicates that most children do not suffer adverse effects when consuming food colored with the dyes, but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them, it said. The evidence is 'complicated' and 'mixed,' said Marion Nestle, an emeritus professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. But, she said, 'these dyes are unnecessary.' 'If there's any question at all about whether they might be harmful,' Nestle said, 'let's get rid of them.' California decided to ban certain artificial dyes in food served in public schools. And in West Virginia, Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) signed legislation last month banning foods containing seven synthetic dyes in schools from Aug. 1 and foods with the dyes in the state starting in 2028. Artificial and natural dyes are listed on the ingredients label. Checking the label is a 'reasonable step' for someone who's concerned about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-like symptoms, or their irritability and mood, said Joel Nigg, a professor of psychiatry at Oregon Health & Science University. A person who reduces their consumption of foods with artificial dyes 'should notice the benefit within a few days,' if it is a factor, he said. 'Food dyes are not a major contributor to ADHD,' Nigg said. 'But they do play a small role in worsening attention and behavior in children.' For home cooking and baking, natural dyes — extracts from fruits and vegetables — can add color. The extracts for natural dyes have thousands of compounds and often different flavor profiles, which makes them problematic, Mitchell said. Natural dyes are more challenging for manufacturers to use, and it's not as simple as replacing artificial with natural alternatives. 'Natural does not imply safety,' Mitchell said. 'I have some concerns that we might be replacing one problem with another problem.' 'I think we need to recalibrate our expectation of color in food,' she said. Marlene Cimons contributed to this report.
Boston Globe
11-03-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Kennedy rattles food companies with vow to rid food of artificial dyes
And while Kennedy said in the meeting that he wanted to work with the industry, he also 'made clear his intention to take action unless the industry is willing to be proactive with solutions,' the association wrote. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'But to underscore, decision time is imminent,' Melissa Hockstad, who attended the meeting and is the group's president, wrote in the letter. Advertisement Later on Monday, Kennedy issued a directive that would also affect food companies nationwide. He ordered the Food and Drug Administration to revise a long-standing policy that allowed companies — independent of any regulatory review — to decide that a new ingredient in the food supply was safe. Put in place decades ago, the policy was aimed at ingredients like vinegar or salt that are widely considered to be well-understood and benign. But the designation, known as GRAS, or 'generally recognized as safe,' has since grown to include a far broader array of natural and synthetic additives. Kennedy had vowed to upend the food system as a way to address growing rates of chronic disease and other health concerns even before his appointment as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. He now oversees the FDA, the federal regulator for about 80 percent of the nation's food supply. Many food companies rely on artificial dyes to make breakfast cereals and candies dazzling shades of pink and blue, for instance, or beverages neon orange. Some have tried to adapt natural ingredients, like carrot or blueberry juice, for coloring, particularly for products sold in international markets. But the companies have said that consumer demand had weakened in the United States because of dissatisfaction with less appealing or vivid colors in snacks and drinks. Advertisement Steven Williams, chief executive of PepsiCo's North America division, attended the meeting with Kennedy, but the company said he would not comment. In an email, a PepsiCo spokesperson said that the company viewed the meeting as a 'productive first step' and added it was focused on providing consumers 'more options with natural ingredients, no synthetic colors and reductions in sugar, fat and sodium.' Stacy Flathau, the chief corporate affairs officer for WK Kellogg, said in an emailed statement that the company looked forward to working with the new administration. While the industry memo expressed alarm about the plan to remove synthetic colors, it did not address Kennedy's additional proposal targeting some food ingredients deemed safe. Advocates for food safety have criticized the existing GRAS policy as a loophole enabling food companies to introduce untested ingredients that in some cases have proved hazardous. About 1,000 ingredients deemed safe have been reviewed by the FDA, but Kennedy targeted the ones that companies deem acceptable with no government oversight. 'Eliminating this loophole will provide transparency to consumers, help get our nation's food supply back on track by ensuring that ingredients being introduced into foods are safe, and ultimately Make America Healthy Again,' Kennedy said in a statement. Bills to remove synthetic colors from the food supply have taken off since California banned Red Dye No. 3, a move that the FDA followed. Other state proposals have targeted titanium dioxide, a compound used to make food appear shiny. Texas and West Virginia have moved to strip colorants from some school lunches. Advertisement In Hockstad's letter to food company executives, she said Kennedy wanted synthetic color additives known as FD&C colors, or Food, Drug & Cosmetic dyes, removed during his administration. Vani Hari, an activist known online as the Food Babe who did not attend the meeting, applauded Kennedy's willingness to take on the food industry. 'Bobby gave the food industry an ultimatum,' she said. 'Either work with us to make these changes happen, or we'll do it ourselves.' Stuart Pape, a lawyer who represents food companies, said Kennedy's plan was 'ambitious.' He said the FDA traditionally had proposed removal of one coloring at a time, presenting research on why the ingredient was unsafe. Whether there is an adequate supply of alternative colorings would be a concern of a broader plan. 'I think Kennedy has made no secret that he intends to go after the food ingredients,' Pape said. 'And I think this is the opening of that war.' This article originally appeared in
