FDA approves another natural food dye, with easier labels to find artificial ones

Source: CNN

Reported by: Ntiamoah Bernice Mantebea

February 5, 2026.

The “Make America Healthy Again” movement’s efforts to replace artificial, petroleum-based food dyes with natural ones has led the US Food and Drug Administration to approve beetroot red and expand spirulina extract use.

The agency announced on Thursday that six natural colors are now approved under the current administration.

Beetroot red is a reddish-purple liquid or powder. Spirulina extract is a blue-green powder or liquid from Arthrospira platensis algae in oceans and salty lakes. It is already approved in items like candy, chewing gum, frosting, some dairy products, cereals, condiments, and alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages.

FDA now allows spirulina in more general human foods, but not infant formula or certain US Department of Agriculture-inspected items.

The FDA further said products with natural dyes can label themselves “no artificial colors.” This makes it simpler for shoppers to distinguish artificial from natural colors.

“This is real progress,” US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr said in a news release. “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.”

Top synthetic dyes in the US include red Nos. 3 and 40, yellow Nos. 5 and 6, and blue Nos. 1 and 2. Research links them to health risks like cancer and behavioral issues in animals and children.

Dr. Wesley McWhorter, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said in an email. “Artificial dyes dominated because they are cheaper, more heat- and shelf-stable, and easier to standardize in ultra-processed foods. But those manufacturing advantages do not imply they are healthier or necessary, which is why many whole food-oriented brands have moved back toward plant- and algae-based color sources.”

California pioneered synthetic dye restrictions years ago, banning red No. 3 statewide and six others in schools effective January 1, 2027, and December 31, 2027. The FDA banned red No. 3 in January 2025.

Twenty-six other states introduced similar bills—some law, some pending—to prohibit, limit, or warn about artificial colors.

The FDA outlined in April a plan with industry to eliminate synthetic dyes from food. Brands like Kraft Heinz, General Mills, WK Kellogg Co., The Campbell’s Company, PepsiCo, Nestle, The Hershey Company, Utz, In-N-Out, Walmart, and Sam’s Club complied.

The FDA therefore targets full synthetic dye removal by January 2027.