The US Food & Drug Administration, which has announced it will phase out petroleum-based food dyes in the coming months, says American children “have been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals” for 50 years, and suggests beet and carrot juice as substitutes for some dyes.
At a press conference, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD said: “The scientific community has conducted a number of studies raising concerns about the correlation between petroleum-based synthetic dyes and several health conditions like attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, cancer, genomic disruption, and GI issues … So why are we taking a gamble?”
The FDA announced six actions it was taking on the issue, reports MedPage Today:
• Establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives;
• Initiating the process to revoke authorisation for two synthetic food colourings – Citrus Red No 2 and Orange B – within the coming months;
• 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;
• Authorising four new natural colour additives in the coming weeks, while also accelerating the review and approval of others;
• Partnering with NIH to conduct comprehensive research on how food additives impact children’s health and development; and
• Requesting food companies to remove FD&C Red No 3 sooner than the 2027-2028 deadline previously required.
Makary offered some suggestions for petroleum dye replacements.
“For companies that use petroleum-based red dye, try watermelon juice or beet juice. And those that combine petroleum-based yellow chemical and red dyes together can try carrot juice.”
No formal agreement or settlement has been made with food companies to remove the dyes, and no regulatory action has yet been taken – because it might not be necessary, he added.
“We are exploring every tool in the toolbox to make sure this gets done very quickly.”
HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said food companies and the industry had shown “a lot of leadership” on this.
“In fact, we’re getting companies – and fast food companies – calling us almost every day and asking, 'How do we do this? What do you want us to do?… I think most of them really want to have a healthier America.”
The plan was “to get rid of every additive in school food that we can legally address”, Kennedy added.
“There are so many conflicts we are now systematically eliminating …there are shockingly few studies, even on food dyes, and on all these other ingredients as well.”
MedPage Today article – FDA to Phase Out Petroleum-Based Food Dyes (Open access)
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
RFK Jr moves to ban artificial dyes in food
US bans Red No 3 dye, flags cancer links
How dangerous are red dye and other additives to sweets and foods?