11 Jul 2025 A tipping point for food colours?

“I’ve never seen the industry at a more pivotal moment,” asserts Greg Till, CEO for Sensient EMEA, a global colourants producer…..

• The US Health Secretary, RFK Jr, and the US FDA are pushing to phase out synthetic food dyes due to health concerns.
• Major food brands are reformulating products to meet new regulations and consumer demand.
• Natural dyes pose challenges in stability, cost and supply chain logistics.
• The industry faces pressure to innovate while ensuring safety and transparency.

With the US (the world’s largest consumer of food colours) on the cusp of major legislative shifts that could ban synthetic colours, the ripple effects will be felt globally. A rapid acceleration in demand for natural alternatives is inevitable.

But here’s the catch, writes Till: natural colours aren’t instantly scalable. From seed selection to harvest variability and agri-processing, the supply chain is deeply complex.

Even in Europe, where most customers have converted to natural colours for decades, the implications of this demand surge cannot be ignored.

This isn’t just a supply challenge. It’s a strategic imperative. Food and beverage brands must partner with reliable suppliers who are deeply embedded in the agricultural value chain and ready to navigate the years ahead…..

Why phasing out artificial food dyes is so complex

RFK Jr says he’s working with the food industry to remove synthetic dyes by the end of 2026. The Wall Street Journal visited one of the world’s largest food colour plants, a Sensient plant, to see why this deadline is so hard to achieve.

Click on the graphic below to view this video …

Kennedy’s battle against food dyes hits a roadblock

The health secretary has used peer pressure to persuade food makers to nix synthetic dyes. The candy industry is holding out, arguing American consumers like bright sweets.

Less than three months after he declared war on synthetic food dyes, Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has already secured the cooperation of the makers of some of America’s most colourful culinary products.

If they fulfill their promises, Jell-O snacks, Kool-Aid beverages, and Lucky Charms cereals, among a host of other foods, will be rid of synthetic dyes by the end of 2027.

But the candy industry and its most colourful chocolate treat, M&M’s, are a big obstacle standing between Kennedy and the ability to claim total victory.

Other than Froot Loops cereal, perhaps no food carries as much symbolism as M&M’s for Kennedy and the movement he calls “Make America Healthy Again.” Upon taking the reins at the Department of Health and Human Services, he made synthetic dyes the first target in his plan to rid the nation of ultra-processed foods.

When he announced in April that he had an “understanding” with food makers to remove petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026, citing research showing they were linked to behavioural problems in children, critics scoffed at his voluntary approach. Yet his peer-pressure campaign appears to have produced some results. Last month, Nestle and ConAgra joined Kraft Heinz, General Mills and PepsiCo in signing on to the secretary’s plan.

Candy manufacturers, which lean on artificial colourings for the bright treats they market to children, are still holding out.

“I think RFK and his team are learning the limits of their power to persuade,” said Scott Faber, an attorney with the Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization.

As much as 19 percent of processed foods include synthetic dyes, and confectionary companies had the most products containing them, according to a study published in late June in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

In an appearance on Capitol Hill in May, Kennedy pronounced the food industry “very, very receptive.” His spokesman, Andrew Nixon, said both the secretary and the FDA were urging “other food manufacturers, including the candy industry, to follow suit in putting public health first over industry profit.”….

New York Times: Read the full article here