Red Light for Synthetic Dyes?

June 2025 - Vol. 25, No. 11

Hello again! The latest industry buzz includes plans to phase out synthetic food dyes from the U.S. food supply. A recent announcement from FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services outlines plans to remove certain food colors while authorizing new, naturally-sourced colors. Today we’re sharing the proposed federal action plan, its relationship to individual state bans, and the future outlook of these regulations. And speaking of industry buzz, we’re offering another sneak peek into the insightful conversations happening within our Insiders community. As always, thanks for reading!

In this issue:

• Red Light for Synthetic Dyes?

• The Inside Scoop

• Keeping You Current

Warmly, 

Melissa Grzybowski, President, Food Consulting Company

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"Working with Food Consulting Company is always a wonderful experience. Their Client Services Manager, Senia, has impeccable customer service skills and is always very prompt and detailed with her responses. Our Regulatory Specialist, Gretchen, is also very prompt and detailed with her responses and was extremely helpful while guiding us through the entire compliance process. I had a lot of follow up questions and Gretchen was always so gracious and patient with me."

- Taylor Phang, Marketing Manager, Natural Intentions, Inc.

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Feature Article

Red Light for Synthetic Food Dyes?

In April, FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced plans to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply. Actions towards this goal include: 

• Establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petroleum-based dyes to natural alternatives

• Initiating the process to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings - Citrus Red 2 and Orange B

• Working with the industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes (Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Blue 2) from the food supply by the end of 2026

• Authorizing new natural color additives, while also accelerating the review and approval of others. 

• Partnering with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct comprehensive research on how food additives impact children’s health and development

• Requesting food companies to remove Red 3 sooner than the 2027-2028 deadline previously established