Donald Trump's administration announced Tuesday its intention to eliminate all artificial colorings currently authorized in the United States from food by the end of 2026, a measure supported by health experts and the subject of a rare political consensus.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is "effectively eliminating all petroleum-derived food colorings in the United States," its new chief, Marty Makary, announced at a press conference alongside US Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy Jr.
In total, eight artificial colorings, currently present in thousands of various American food products such as candy, cereals, sauces and drinks, will be gradually banned by the end of 2026 and replaced by natural colorings, they specified, saying they are counting on the goodwill of the food industry.
"Over the past 50 years, American children have increasingly lived in a toxic soup of artificial chemicals," Makary said earlier, citing studies linking such additives to hyperactivity, diabetes and cancer.
This announcement follows the previous Democratic administration's mid-January decision to remove from food another artificial coloring called "Red 3" in North America and E127 in Europe, which has been known for over 30 years to cause cancer in animals.
– No “nutritional value” –
"None of them have any nutritional value," Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a consumer advocacy group that called for their ban, told AFP. "They really only serve to mislead, to make foods appear redder, bluer, fruitier, or more appealing than they actually are." And this is for commercial purposes.
According to a statement from the Department of Health, the FDA will first revoke the approval of two of the eight colors "in the coming months," and then "work with industry to eliminate" the remaining six, much more widespread colors, such as "Red 40" (known as E129 in Europe) and "Yellow 5" (E102) and "Yellow 6" (E110).
In parallel with this work, health authorities will "authorize four new natural colorants in the coming weeks" and accelerate the approval processes for others, the text details.
"We will get rid of every ingredient and every food additive that we can legally regulate," promised Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., to the applause of "MAHA" mothers who came for the occasion with their children.
– Goodwill –
According to the former lawyer who has become the leading figure in a movement called "Make America Healthy Again" ("MAHA"), which aims to "Make America Healthy Again" – a phrase modeled on Donald Trump's famous slogan – this plan will rely largely on the goodwill of the food industry.
"I think they're ready to change," said Kennedy, who said artificial colors and additives pose an "existential" threat to the health of Americans.
His position on the subject is one of the few not to be criticized by the scientific and medical community, which has repeatedly denounced his comments in recent months, particularly those calling vaccination into question.
His announcement follows several similar measures taken locally and abroad. In March, the Republican state of West Virginia banned the use of seven synthetic dyes in food and medicines sold in its territory, following in the footsteps of Democratic California, which announced in 2024 that it would remove them from school meals within a few years.
In Europe, these dyes are not completely banned, but their use is often restricted or conditioned on the affixing of warning labels on products containing them, a measure which has led many companies to opt for natural alternatives.
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