(NewsNation) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced further details Tuesday on his plan to rid the American food supply of food dyes.
The Food and Drug Administration will take steps to eliminate synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, Commissioner Marty Makary said during the press conference.
Petroleum-based artificial colors will be phased out, which will lead to an ingredient overhaul among a litany of U.S. products.
Kennedy lamented the “extraordinary chronic disease epidemic” in the United States following the assassination of his uncle, John F. Kennedy, stating that chronic disease among children was at 3% during his presidency and now exceeds 60%.
“Americans don’t know what they’re eating, and they don’t know the implications,” Kennedy said during the media conference.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies that indicate they may cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children.
Before January’s change in administration, Red dye No. 3 was ordered to be removed from products by 2027 and medications by the following year after medical research found it caused cancer in rats.
The FDA has maintained that the approved dyes are safe and that “the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.”
Currently, the FDA allows 36 food color additives, including eight synthetic dyes. Some U.S. states, such as California and West Virginia, recently enacted laws that ban artificial colors and other additives from school meals and in some cases the broader food supply.