According to a press statement, FDA will accelerate the review of calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and other natural alternatives to synthetic food dyes. The agency is also taking steps to issue guidance and provide regulatory flexibilities to industries.
The FDA said it establish a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives.
It will initiate the process to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings—Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B—within the coming months. It will also work 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.
“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who coined the phrase Make America Healthy Again. “These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development. That era is coming to an end. We’re restoring gold-standard science, applying common sense, and beginning to earn back the public’s trust. And we’re doing it by working with industry to get these toxic dyes out of the foods our families eat every day.”