The FDA approves, expand 3 natural color additives after the RFK Jr. plan to eliminate artificial food dyes
The United States Food and Food Administration (FDA) approved On Friday, additional color additives of natural sources in line with the objective of the Department of Health and Human Services to eliminate artificial food dyes.
The agency approved two dyes and expanded the approval of a third, which means that it can now be used in a broader range of food products.
“Today we take an important step to make the United States again healthy,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in a statement. “For too long, our food system has been based on oil -based synthetic dyes that do not offer nutritional value and pose unnecessary health risks. We are eliminating these dyes and approving safe and natural alternatives, to protect families and support the healthiest options.”
Approved additives include Galdieria Extract Blue, which is derived from algae; Butterfly flower flower of the pea butterfly flower; and calcium phosphate, a natural compound that contains calcium and phosphorus.
FDA has approved Galdieria Extract Azul to be used in various products, including fruit juices, fruits, sweets, gum, breakfast cereals, palettes and yogurts.
The butterfly peas flower extract, which is already used to color most of the above, had its use expanded for coloring cereals ready to eat, salty cookies, mixtures of sandwiches, hard pretzels, smooth fries, smooth corn chips, tortilla chips and multigrade fries.
The US Food and Medicines Administration Campus in Silver Spring, Maryland, is photographed on October 14, 2015.
Andrew Harnik/AP
Calcium phosphate was approved for use in chicken products ready to eat, white sweets, donut sugar and sugar for coated sweets.
The approvals come after Kennedy’s comments about his opposition to artificial dyes, claiming that they are harmful and asking to be eliminated from food and drinks. Under Kennedy, the FDA has sought voluntary commitments of food companies that will eliminate synthetic dyes.
Since then, some American food manufacturers, including Tyson Foods, have said they are working to eliminate artificial food dyes.
Nutritionists and dietitians divide on whether synthetic food dyes are harmful or to the extent that they are harmful, but they all agree that they have no nutritional value.
The FDA Commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, told reporters on Friday that he will meet with the consumer brand association, promoting administration’s efforts to eliminate dyes from the United States food supply.
“On April 22, I said that the FDA would soon approve several new color additives and accelerate our review of others. I am pleased to inform that the promises made, the promises have been maintained,” Makary said in a statement. “FDA staff has moved quickly to accelerate the publication of these decisions, underlining our serious intention to transition from oil -based dyes in the food supply and provide new colors of natural sources.”
ABC News Selina Wang contributed to this report.
