Except you make a behavior of carefully studying diet labels—or watching Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s YouTube channel—you won’t notice simply how a lot tartrazine you’re ingesting. Kennedy, the U.S. well being secretary, is fixated on the chemical, in any other case often called Yellow 5. Many People are unknowingly consuming this and different “poisons,” he warned in a YouTube video posted final fall. The lemon-yellow hue tints junk meals reminiscent of Skittles and Mountain Dew; it’s additionally in rooster bouillon, pancake combine, and pickles. In Europe, merchandise containing Yellow 5 are branded with a label warning that it “might have an hostile impact on exercise and a focus in kids.” However for twenty years, the FDA has declined to ban the dye, citing inconclusive proof.

At this time, the FDA introduced that it’ll transfer to rid the meals provide of Yellow 5 and several other different artificial meals dyes, reminiscent of Crimson 40, Blue 1, and Inexperienced 3, by the tip of subsequent 12 months. It’s not a ban: Kennedy, who oversees the FDA, stated in a press convention that he has reached an “understanding” with the meals corporations to section out these dyes, though he offered scant particulars on the specifics. (An HHS spokesperson didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.)

At this time’s motion was, in some ways, a win for Kennedy. Democrats have lengthy grumbled that meals corporations shouldn’t be foisting on People chemical-laden variations of merchandise reminiscent of Doritos and Froot Loops whereas promoting additive-free variations in different nations. RFK Jr.’s “Make America Wholesome Once more” motion has introduced Republicans onboard too. In October 2023, California turned the primary state to ban a synthetic meals dye, Crimson 3; it has since been joined by West Virginia, which banned seven dyes this March. In 2025, greater than half of the 50 states have launched related payments, in some instances particularly shouting out MAHA.

Cracking down on meals dyes is a refreshingly modest, incremental step towards reforming America’s meals system. There may be actual proof that these dyes are dangerous, notably to kids. A evaluation from 2021 discovered that “artificial meals dyes are related to hostile neurobehavioral results, reminiscent of inattentiveness, hyperactivity and restlessness in delicate kids.” Many kids aren’t affected by these consideration considerations, to be clear, and it’s additionally troublesome to pinpoint one dye as worse than one other, as a result of they’re usually studied collectively. However, as opponents to the dyes have argued, subjecting any proportion of youngsters to neurobehavioral points doesn’t appear price having bright-red Skittles.

Transferring away from artificial dyes can be a monumental change for meals corporations, however they’ve a cause to cheer for right now’s information as nicely. Since states started taking over the food-dye problem in earnest, the trade has complained that differing state legal guidelines for meals dyes would make it tougher to run their companies. In an announcement, the Client Manufacturers Affiliation, which represents corporations reminiscent of Nestlé, PepsiCo, and Common Mills, stated {that a} “state patchwork of differing legal guidelines creates confusion for customers, limits entry to on a regular basis items, deters innovation, and will increase prices on the grocery retailer,” and the group maintained that the components it makes use of “have been rigorously studied following an goal science and risk-based analysis course of and have been demonstrated to be protected.” The trade is unquestionably glad to listen to that the FDA, at the least proper now, just isn’t implementing a ban for frequent dyes reminiscent of Yellow 5. “I imagine in love,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary stated right now. “And let’s begin in a pleasant means and see if we will do that with none statutory or regulatory adjustments.” He added that meals corporations can use pure dyes reminiscent of beet, carrot, and watermelon juice to paint their merchandise as a substitute of synthetic dyes.

If Kennedy’s purported understanding with the meals trade falls by and firms balk, Kennedy’s and Makary’s jobs will grow to be trickier.

The FDA has traditionally taken years to formally ban only a single meals ingredient. It took almost three years to behave on a petition to ban Crimson 3 in meals, although scientific research confirmed a long time in the past that the dye causes most cancers in rats. At the very least a few of that slowness is by design. Regulators have to doc authentic hurt that’s brought on by these merchandise, and that course of can take years. The FDA’s job additionally has grow to be much more troublesome in mild of the mass layoffs which have performed out within the early days of Donald Trump’s second presidency. Among the many 89 staffers from the FDA’s meals middle are 9 folks particularly tasked with reviewing components in meals, in accordance to Jim Jones, a former head of the middle. (He resigned in protest of the layoffs in February.)

Both means, the pace with which the meals trade phases out these dyes shouldn’t be seen because the true measure of simply how profitable RFK Jr. is. Cracking down on meals dyes has grow to be a serious plank of the MAHA platform, however the chemical substances are nowhere close to the most important obstacle to creating America wholesome once more. The true check might be how Kennedy and his motion offers with way more urgent, and intractable, challenges within the American eating regimen. Even with out artificial dyes in our meals, People will nonetheless overwhelmingly be consuming ultra-processed meals loaded with extra sodium and sugar. This doesn’t appear to be a degree misplaced on Kennedy, who issued a stern warning right now that “sugar is poison.” And but, he hasn’t articulated any plans to remove the ingredient from our meals. Phasing out meals dyes is straightforward, at the least compared with tackling these larger points. The actual check of the MAHA motion might be not whether or not it will probably get the purple dye out of Skittles, however whether or not it will probably persuade People to forgo the Skittles altogether.