RFK Jr. Wants to Get Rid of Artificial Food Dyes—How Healthy Are the Alternatives?

The bright, eye-popping colors you’re used to seeing in your breakfast cereals, candies, and snacks most likely come from synthetic food dyes. Now, the Trump administration wants to bring new hues to your table.

On April 22, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a series of efforts to remove petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the American food system and replace them with natural alternatives.

That’s a big deal for the food industry and the public alike since consumers are often attached to the appearance of products they know and love, said Melissa Wright, MS, director of the Food Producer Technical Assistance Network at Virginia Tech. “We eat with our eyes first,” she said. “And we buy with our eyes.”

But will these alternative colorings actually make our food healthier? Here’s what to know about the natural dyes that may soon be headed for a supermarket near you.

Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B seem to be the administration’s first priorities. The FDA will move toward revoking authorization of those food colorings “in the coming months,” according to the agency’s announcement. 

The administration has also asked food companies to voluntarily stop using another six dyes—Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, and Blue No. 2—by the end of 2026. In addition, regulators have asked manufacturers to phase out Red No. 3, which the Biden administration took steps to ban earlier this year, sooner than the previous 2027–28 deadline.

During a news conference, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said he has “an understanding” with major food manufacturers to remove these dyes from their products by 2026. (However, it’s unclear exactly which companies he was referring to.)

“These synthetic dyes, long used in food products, have been linked to serious health risks, including allergic reactions and developmental issues such as ADHD, particularly in our nation’s children,” an FDA spokesperson said in a statement to Health. “By transitioning to safer, plant-based alternatives … the FDA is taking decisive action to protect American families and reduce these public health risks.”

It’s true that some studies have found an association between exposure to synthetic dyes and behavioral problems in kids. Because of such research, regulators in the European Union have long attached warning labels to some foods that contain synthetic dyes.

Separately, Red No. 3 is being pulled from the food supply due to studies suggesting it may cause cancer in rats. However, animals in those studies were exposed to huge amounts of dye and developed cancer because of a hormonal mechanism that does not exist in humans.

The FDA is “fast-tracking” the authorization process for at least four natural dyes. These products include:

Calcium phosphate. Calcium phosphate is a naturally occurring mineral found in bones and teeth. Among other uses, it acts as a whitening agent. The FDA has designated calcium phosphate as “GRAS”—an acronym that means an ingredient is “generally recognized as safe” and can be used in food without going through the agency’s full review and approval process. It is already used in some foods, such as soymilk and nutritional drinks.

Galdieria extract blue. Galdieria extract comes from algae and creates a vibrant blue color. The French company Fermentalg, which makes blue dye from algae, is reportedly in the “final stages” of securing FDA approval.

Gardenia blue. Gardenia blue is derived from a plant, a type of shrub called Gardenia jasminoides. It is already widely used as a blue food colorant in Asia, but it is not yet authorized in the U.S.

Butterfly pea flower extract. This extract comes from the butterfly pea flower. The type of pigment found in the flower is also found in many fruits and vegetables, Gabriel Keith Harris, PhD, a professor of food science at North Carolina State University, told Health. Butterfly pea flower extract is a versatile food dye because it can add different colors to foods depending on the acidity of other ingredients in the mix. The government already allows butterfly pea flower extract to be used as a dye for many foods and beverages, including soft drinks, ice cream, candy, and yogurts.

You might assume that adding plant-based dyes to foods automatically makes them healthier—after all, we’re constantly encouraged to add more plants to our diets. Not so fast, Wright told Health.

Dyes are used in “such negligible amounts” that consumers should not expect significant nutritional benefits from consuming plant-based colorings, Wright said. To put it in perspective: If you eat 100 grams of a food, you’re generally eating around 0.1 grams of coloring, Wright said—so the dye is hardly the most important ingredient when assessing nutritional value.

Anyone looking to improve their diet quality would be better off switching from processed foods—which are typically those that contain dyes—to whole foods, like fruits and vegetables, she said.

Plus, just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s completely risk-free, Wright added. For example, dyes made from living organisms can harbor bacteria and other pathogens if they’re not processed correctly, she said.

Allergic reactions to natural dyes are also possible, added Martin Bucknavage, MS, senior food safety specialist in the Department of Food Science at the Penn State University College of Agricultural Sciences. It will take more research to fully understand the safety profile of natural dyes, he told Health.

If natural dyes become standard, it’s not just ingredient labels that will look different. While the flavors of familiar foods shouldn’t change dramatically, their appearances might.

Synthetic dyes produce brilliant colors that stay consistent for a long time. (“Those Maraschino cherries are going to stay red forever,” Harris said.) By contrast, natural colorings tend to fade more easily when exposed to heat, light, or other ingredients, or simply over time. 

“The colors are not going to be as vibrant, in a lot of cases, as what we had before,” Bucknavage agreed. “Your Froot Loops [won’t be] as bright, or your pack of Twizzlers [won’t be] as red.”

Alternative dyes would likely also be more expensive for manufacturers to use in bulk, because they require natural materials for their production, Bucknavage said. A small portion of those costs could be passed down to customers, he said, but price tags probably wouldn’t jump dramatically.

Will consumers still want to buy foods that look a little different, and potentially cost a little more? History suggests they may not. Food companies have previously pledged to remove artificial colors from their ingredient lists, then reversed course due to sagging consumer demand.

If that trend holds true, Harris said, the impending push toward natural dyes could have at least one positive (but perhaps unintended) impact on U.S. public health: helping consumers break up with colorful processed foods.