In a recent closed-door meeting with the CEOs of several major food companies—including PepsiCo, General Mills, Smucker’s, Kraft Heinz, and Kellogg’s—Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. implored the industry to eliminate artificial food dyes from their products. The secretary “expressed the strong desire and urgent priority of the administration to remove” artificial coloring from the food supply, said Melissa Hockstad, president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, in a readout reported by Food Fix. 

In 2023, California became the first state in the country to ban Red 3 in foods, along with three other additives. A year later, the Golden State barred another six food dyesfrom being served in the state’s public school lunches.  

Kennedy and other supporters of these bans cite studies that suggest synthetic dyes can potentially be cancerous. Other reports have linked these additives to hyperactivity in some children.

But critics argue these studies don’t reflect real-world consumption levels. “The cancer-causing ‘links’ found in studies are based on dangerously high doses given to lab rats in amounts no human would ever consume, even if they ate a whole box of cereal or pack of hot dogs,” says Bill Wirtz, a senior policy analyst at the Consumer Choice Center. “Banning food dyes is a performative regulatory action. All dyes currently used by manufacturers do not pose a known health risk to consumers.”

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