At the first meeting with top executives from Pepsico, WK Kellogg, General Mills and other large companies, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was openly saying that his number one priority is to remove artificial dyes from the country's food supply.
At Monday's meeting, Kennedy stressed that it was the new Trump administration's “strong desire and urgent priorities” and that it would be to remove the artificially colored food system.
Additionally, he warned businesses that a major change should be predicted as a result of his quest to “remove the worst ingredients from food.” According to a letter from the Consumer Brands Association, a trade association. The Times reviewed copies sent to members of the group after the meeting.
And Kennedy said he wanted to work with the industry at the meeting, but “it has made it clear that he willing to take action unless the industry is willing to become proactive in the solution,” the association wrote.
“But to emphasize, decision time is imminent,” wrote Melissa Hockstad, the group's president, in a letter.
Later on Monday, Kennedy issued an order that would affect food companies across the country. He ordered the Food and Drug Administration to amend long-standing policies that allow businesses to determine new ingredients in their food supply are safe, independent of regulatory reviews. The policy, set up decades ago, is intended for ingredients such as vinegar and salt, and is well understood and widely considered benign. However, the designation known as GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe” has since grown to include a much broader natural and synthetic additives.
Even before being appointed head of the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy had vowed to overturn the food system as a way to address the rise in chronic illness and other health concerns. He currently oversees the FDA, the federal regulator that covers approximately 80% of the country's food supply.
Many food companies rely on artificial dyes to drink breakfast cereals and candies in dazzling shades of pink and blue, or neon oranges. Some are trying to adapt natural ingredients such as carrots and blueberry juice to coloring, especially for products sold in international markets like Canada. However, businesses say consumer demand has weakened in the US as they are unhappy with the attractive and vibrant colours of snacks and drinks.
Stephen Williams, chief executive of PepsiCo's North American division, attended a meeting with Kennedy, but the company said it would not comment. In an email, a PepsiCo spokesperson said the company views the meeting as a “productive first step,” adding that it is focused on providing consumers with “more options with reduced synthetic colours of natural ingredients, sugar, fat and sodium.”
Stacy Flathau, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at WK Kellogg, said in an emailed statement that he looks forward to the company working with the new administration.
The industry notes have raised alarms about plans to remove synthetic colors, but did not address Kennedy's additional suggestions targeting several food ingredients that are deemed safe.
Food safety advocates have criticised existing GRAS policies as a loophole that allows food companies to introduce untested ingredients that have been proven to be dangerous. Around 1,000 materials deemed safe have been reviewed by the FDA, but Kennedy has targeted what businesses deemed acceptable without government oversight.
“Eliminating this loophole will provide transparency to consumers and ensure that ingredients introduced into food are safe will help bring the country's food supply back on track and ultimately help America get healthier again,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The bill to remove synthetic colors from food supplies is a continuing move by the FDA since California banned red dye number 3. Other state proposals target titanium dioxide, a compound used to make food look shiny. Texas and West Virginia moved to strip the colorant from school lunch.
In Hockstad's letter to Food Company executives, she said Kennedy wanted the colour of FD&C that was removed during his management, or synthetic color additives known as dyes for food, drugs and cosmetics.
Bani Hari, an activist known online as a food baby who didn't attend the meeting, praised Kennedy's willingness to take on the food industry. “Bobby gave the food industry an ultimatum,” she said. “We'll work with us to make these changes happen, or we'll do it ourselves.”
Kennedy was expected to meet with members of the Make America Healthy Commission on Tuesday.
Stuart Purp, a lawyer representing the food company, said Kennedy's plans were “ambitious.” He said the FDA traditionally suggests removing one color at a time, and presents research into why the ingredients are not safe. Whether there is an appropriate supply of alternative colouring will be a concern for broader planning.
“I don't think Kennedy is keeping a secret that he intends to chase after food ingredients,” Pape said. “And I think this is the start of that war.”
Dr. Peter Lurie, a former FDA official and director of the Center for the Public Interest Science, said the effort may not have a major impact on major chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Data on cancers related to food dyes focused primarily on red number 3, he said. On the day the Biden administration fell, the FDA issued a Red No. 3 ban that will be effective in the coming years. Red Dye No. 3 is associated with some cancers in animals, but not human.
Still, he said Kennedy's move could be effective. Because dyes do little other than make unhealthy foods look more appealing. Despite years of fighting to limit food dyes, food executives may join other business leaders keen on Kotou towards the current administration, he said.
“Given the fear of angering the administration, they may be looking with their interest to go along with this,” he said.
