HHS and FDA Announce Phaseout of Eight Petroleum-Based Food Dyes

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced on April 22, 2025 a coordinated plan to phase out eight petroleum-based synthetic food dyes from the U.S. food supply by the end of 2026. The plan combines authorization revocation for two of the eight dyes with voluntary industry agreements covering the remaining six. The FDA also said it would authorize four new natural color additives in the following weeks and would partner with the National Institutes of Health on new research into the impact of food additives on children’s health.

The dyes targeted are common ingredients in cereals, snacks, ice creams, and yogurts. Kennedy described the announcement as a first step in a broader effort to remove additives the agency believes can be addressed under existing statutory authority. The agency framed the plan as moving by industry agreement rather than rulemaking, citing the speed of voluntary phaseout relative to formal regulatory withdrawal.

Critics noted that prior voluntary phaseout commitments by the food industry have a mixed record of follow-through, and that the announcement does not include a formal mandate or enforcement mechanism. Supporters pointed to the 2025 to 2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, released in January 2026, which addressed ultra-processed foods explicitly for the first time, as evidence that the regulatory direction is consolidating.

The full FDA press announcement, the list of affected dyes, and the agency’s research partnership terms with NIH are available on FDA.gov.