FDA Chief on Removing Petroleum-Based Food Dyes and Improving Food Supply

Tackling Petroleum-Based Food Dyes

• 💡 The FDA is approving Gardinia Blue as a natural food dye, signaling a move towards natural ingredients and incremental health improvements.
• 🎯 Dozens of US ice cream producers plan to remove artificial petroleum-based chemical food dyes by 2028, representing 90% of the industry.
• ⚠️ Data from families suggests eliminating petroleum-based dyes improves children's behavior and attention deficit issues, supported by randomized control trial data.

Broader Food Supply Initiatives

• 🚀 The FDA is approving multiple natural food alternatives, with four approved in the first three months, a pace significantly faster than historical rates.
• 📈 The agency is addressing the larger issue that 70% of children's diets consist of ultra-processed food, which these dyes make more attractive.
• 🔍 The FDA is reviewing chemicals used in the US food supply that are banned in Europe, starting with an inventory and addressing them one by one.

Reforming Food Guidelines and Standards

• 🚫 The FDA is rewriting broken food and nutrition guidelines, including ending the 70-year demonization of natural saturated fat.
• ⚖️ The agency is working to change the broken