US to phase out many synthetic food dyes, Kennedy and FDA head say

WASHINGTON — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said on Tuesday that the agency plans to remove petroleum-based synthetic food dyes from the U.S. food supply by revoking authorizations of some and working with industry to voluntarily remove others.

They cited concerns about a possible link between consumption of the dyes and health conditions like ADHD, obesity and diabetes, an area many scientists say requires more research.

It was not clear what studies Makary was referencing on the link between dyes and health problems. He held up a study he identified as being from the Lancet, a prestigious European medical journal. In 2007, a study in that journal found a link between food dyes and hyperactivity.

During a joint press conference that also included Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again supporters and lawmakers in states that have food dye legislation, Kennedy and Makary raised a wide range of issues they want to address in the food supply.

Kennedy said the efforts to remove additives from food were necessary to address chronic disease in children and, without evidence, suggested it would address rising rates of conditions ranging from ADHD to food allergies.

Makary said the agency would begin the process of revoking authorization for two synthetic food colorings within the coming months and would work with industry to eliminate six other dyes by the end of next year. The Food and Drug Administration in a press release said it plans to authorize four new natural color additives in the coming weeks, while also accelerating the review and approval of others.

While Kennedy and other speakers asserted a strong link between synthetic food dyes and a wide range of health concerns, scientists say there is not yet a large enough body of evidence that food dyes cause any of those problems.

“The information out there is just so minuscule in the scheme of science that it’s really hard to make those generalizations,” said Emily Acri, a clinical transplant dietitian at Yale New Haven Hospital.