The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it has expanded the “no artificial colors” label to be used by companies and their products. The label, previously used when products “had no added color whatsoever,” can now be used when the products “do not contain petroleum-based colors.”
The shift was announced in a letter to manufacturers. “As part of FDA’s efforts to Make America Healthy Again, the agency has worked with industry to phase out certain FD&C Act certified colors and has fast-tracked the approval of several naturally derived alternative colors,” the letter explained. “FDA recognizes that the current definition of ‘artificial color,’ which does not distinguish between colors that are derived from natural sources and other color, may create challenges to transitioning away from FD&C Act certified colors.”
“This is real progress,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “We are making it easier for companies to move away from petroleum-based synthetic colors and adopt safer, naturally derived alternatives. This momentum advances our broader effort to help Americans eat real food and Make America Healthy Again.”
Upon sharing the labeling shifts, the FDA noted that it also approved the use of beetroot red for coloring products, as well as expanding the use of spirulina extract. The FDA previously approved the use of gardenia (genipin) blue as a food dye. Galdieria extract blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate have also been approved for use as natural food dyes in support of the MAHA initiative.
