23-04-2025
FDA makes moves to phase out synthetic food dyes
Your food may soon be safer, with the FDA going after chemical dyes.
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A scientist told Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Sophia Choi that this plan is more talk than teeth.
It's a voluntary recall, meaning the government is relying on companies to phase them out with no real oversight or regulation.
Chemical dyes, made from crude, are in a lot of foods - especially those targeted to kids.
Thomas Galligan with the Center for Science in the Public Interest says those dyes add bright colors but no nutritional value.
'They used these dyes to sell food,' Galligan said. 'If you see vibrant colors, you might be more inclined to buy it.'
It's a marketing tool that could pose a danger. This Georgia couple says synthetic dyes changed their son's behavior.
'He had lots of fits and hitting and biting and tantrums,' Whitney Cawood said.
They changed his diet and made a documentary to warn others.
'We did an elimination diet, and we determined that synthetic dyes were causing 98% of his issues,' Whitney Cawood said.
'It was kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,' Brandon Cawood said.
The FDA could ban chemical dyes outright but instead announced Tuesday it is establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition to natural alternatives.
It plans to revoke two synthetic food colorings citrus red No. 2 and orange B, within the coming months while authorizing four new natural color additives in the coming weeks.
It wants companies to remove red dye 3 sooner than the 2027-2028 deadline, and it's asking the industry to voluntarily remove six remaining synthetic dyes still in use by the end of next year.
'It's a lot of talk,' Galligan said. 'It's a lot of rhetoric, not a whole lot of action.
In Europe, leaders already took some steps, requiring a warning label on foods that contain chemical dyes.
Some states in the U.S. are now starting to limit or ban them too, but not here in Georgia.
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