Dairy sector joins voluntary food dye ban Image By HPN Staff The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) is joining food manufacturers, retailers, restaurants and other organizations in eliminating food dyes from its products. The dyes they plan to remove include Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6. The announcement was made just days before National Ice Cream Day. The move comes after growing concerns about potential health effects from food dyes. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has announced that eight artificial food dyes will be phased out of food and medication by the end of 2026. Since then, companies such as Nestle, Kraft, Heinz and Generals Mills have voluntarily removed dyes from their products. Why it matters In 2010, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released a study showing evidence that artificial food dyes caused cancer, hypersensitivity reactions and behavioral problems. The behavioral problems have been observed in children consuming artificial dyes. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said at the press conference, “Parents are telling us that when a kid has abnormal behavior and they try reducing or eliminating petroleum-based food dyes, they have seen behavior improve. That is data.” The bigger picture Kennedy has made the elimination of artificial dyes central to his efforts to “Make America Healthy Again.” The behavioral issues seen in children, combined with decades of ingestion of these dyes over a lifetime, causing life-threatening diseases like cancer, have led the FDA to “follow the science, not medical dogma,” said Makary. This mission is a top priority for the administration, and a new step forward for the FDA. Makary said that the FDA has traditionally approved new natural food dyes “every couple of years”, but since the start of Kennedy’s tenure at HHS, the FDA has already approved four natural dyes. At the event, they announced the approval of the natural dye gardenia blue, a vegetable-based dye that they hope will replace artificial blue dyes in the coming years. Kennedy said that the department has received organic and chemical free commitments from 35-40% of the American food industry in addition to the 35% of the industry that was already producing organic products. More context The IDFA represents 90% of the dairy industry. The other 10% of the industry, not included in this commitment, represents small vendors and non-dairy desserts. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated the third Sunday of July each year to be National Ice Cream Day. This year, it fell on July 20. Ice cream is a popular treat this time of year. Americans consume about 19 pounds of ice cream each year, and dairy producers made about 1.31 billion gallons last year alone.
