An expert explains how the ban is “performative” — and there was “no regulatory action” taken
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- Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a ban on artificial food dyes — but as dietician Dr. Jessica Knurick tells PEOPLE, “there was no ban”
- Dr. Knurick explains that “we don’t really use” the two dyes that may have their authorization revoked
- As for the other dyes, the FDA said it will be “working with the industry” to eliminate them, but “there was no regulatory action” taken, according to Dr. Knurick, who called the announcement “performative”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary announced on April 21 plans to ban artificial food dyes, citing them as part of an ongoing system that, as Kennedy has said in the past, has been allowed to “mass poison” children.
“We are going to get rid of the dyes,” Kennedy said, per NPR, as Makary said they were a part of “a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals.” Kennedy claimed, “the industry has voluntarily agreed.”
He said he had reached “an understanding” with food manufacturers to stop using petroleum-based food colorings by 2026.
The only problem with the announcement? “There was no ban,” dietician Dr. Jessica Knurick tells PEOPLE. “There was no regulatory action done. They basically asked the food industry to stop using these artificial food dyes, and then came out with this announcement that there had been this agreement — and the food industry promptly came out and said there was no agreement.”
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As Dr. Knurick explains, “It’s a regulatory process through the FDA” and a ban would have to “formally revoke existing approvals. And to do that, there is a pretty involved process, but essentially, you need solid evidence that substances are unsafe under current use.”
On April 22, the FDA appeared to soften these initial declarations, releasing a statement saying it was going to “initiate the process” to “revoke authorization” for citrus red #2, and orange B, and “phase out” “petroleum-based synthetic dyes.” But, Dr. Knurick says, tcitrus red #2, and orange B are dyes that “we don’t really use anymore,” with the exception of one sometimes being used in orange peels.
The statement also announced the FDA would be “working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes.”
“It’s performative,” Dr. Knurick says. “It makes people think that they have this big win, and they’re making our food supply safer when really our food supply is getting less safe and this did nothing because there’s no regulation attached to it.”
But there are ways to make our food supply safer — and a real reason to avoid artificially dyed food, she tells PEOPLE.
Why is artificial dye in our food?
“The color of food significantly shapes how we perceive its flavor, its sweetness, its freshness, its quality,” Dr. Knurick tells PEOPLE, explaining that when food items are ultra processed, “they lose a lot of their color. If you didn’t add color with a natural dye or an artificial food dye back in, a lot of products would just be brown or gray, and consumers do not like that.”
What is petroleum-based food dye?
“Have you ever heard petroleum-based dye before, like, two weeks ago?” Dr. Knurick asked. “I ask that because I think it’s a new talking point coming out of this [Make America Healthy Again] movement.” The term, she explains, stems from how how synthetic food dyes are made, from a chemistry perspective.
“They need carbon as a source … petroleum is this naturally occurring liquid that happens to be really rich in these hydrocarbons,” Dr. Knurick explains. “Using petroleum as a carbon source to then synthesize a new kind of chemical is not the same as putting petroleum in your food or drinking petroleum. There is no petroleum in the actual food dye.”
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Why don’t companies use natural food dye?
“Artificial food dyes are used because they’re have a better consistency. You don’t need to use as much of them because they’re so potent, and they are generally cheaper,” Dr. Knurick explained. Artificial dyes are also less likely to cause an allergic reaction, as opposed to, say, a botanically-derived dye.
Are artificial food dyes safe?
“The president and CEO of Consumer Brands Association came out and made a statement saying the ingredients have been rigorously studied. They’ve been demonstrated to be safe,” Dr. Knurick said of Melissa Hockstad’s April 22 announcement. However, there is a reason to avoid these artificially dyed foods, Dr. Knurick says.
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“There’s no nutritional value to them. It’s not like they’re a preservative or an emulsifier that’s actually helping with the nutritional content of the food. Really, what they are is they’re a marketing tool,” Dr. Knurick said. “Artificial food dyes are really used in a lot of products that are heavily marketed to children. They’re not used in nutrient-dense foods that I, as a dietitian, would be recommending. They’re usually used in these foods that I would recommend us to consume less of.”
Dr. Knurick suggested that we “stop using these bright artificially colored foods” and then perhaps we “could see a decrease in intake amongst children of these foods, which I think would be a really positive kind of byproduct of not using them.” But aside from their use in candy and other junk food, “there’s just not great evidence” for them being harmful, “which is why regulatory agencies all around the world allow these food dyes in their food supply.”
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