Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he looks forward to ‘seeing more companies follow suit.’
Tyson Foods said on May 5 that it was working to eliminate the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in its food production and is expecting to complete this by the end of the month.
Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King made the announcement during an earnings call with investors, saying the company has been “proactively reformulating” food products that contain any type of synthetic dyes.
King did not specify a date for when this elimination process will be completed, but noted that most of Tyson Foods’ products, including its chicken nuggets, already do not include such dyes.
He added that none of the products offered through school nutrition programs contain petroleum-based synthetic dyes as ingredients.
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised Tyson Foods for taking swift action in response to the agency’s plan to phase out those types of dyes from the nation’s food supply.
“I look forward to seeing more companies follow suit and put the health of Americans first. Together, we will make America Healthy Again,” he
wrote on social media platform X on May 5.
On April 22, HHS and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
said they would revoke authorization for two synthetic dyes—Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B—and are working with companies to eliminate the other dyes from food products by the end of 2026.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary called on food companies to use natural ingredients in their food products instead, citing concerns over the potential impacts of petrochemical dyes on children’s health.
“We have a new epidemic of childhood diabetes, obesity, depression, and ADHD,” Makary said in a
statement. “Given the growing concerns of doctors and parents about the potential role of petroleum-based food dyes, we should not be taking risks and do everything possible to safeguard the health of our children.”
Studies have linked artificial dyes with various neurobehavioral problems, according to a 2021
report by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment.
According to the report, the number of American children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD has increased from an estimated 6.1 percent to 10.2 percent over the past 20 years.
The FDA in January
banned one of the dyes—Red No. 3, also known as erythrosine—from food products, citing studies that found rats exposed to high levels of the substance developed cancer, but
stated that “claims that the use of [the dye] in food and in ingested drugs puts people at risk are not supported by the available scientific information.”
Previously, in March, Kennedy
held a closed-door meeting with executives from major food companies, including Tyson Foods, to discuss eliminating artificial dyes from their food products.
“They said it’s going to take us a while,” Kennedy
said in an interview with CBS released on April 9. “And I said they all have to be out within two years.”
Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
