FDA moves to ban 2 food dyes

The Food and Drug Administration’s latest food-dye action is narrower than the headline may suggest. On July 22, 2026, the agency issued a final order revoking Orange B’s authorized use in food and proposed revoking Citrus Red No. 2, two petroleum-based color additives that FDA said are no longer used or have been abandoned by industry. (fda.gov) The bigger dyes that appear in many candies, drinks and cereals were not banned in that action. (fda.gov) FDA has instead kept six certified color additives — Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2 — on a voluntary phase-out track that the agency says it is pursuing with manufacturers, retailers and trade groups through the end of 2027. (fda.gov) That distinction matters because the two dyes targeted in July are not the same ones most shoppers recognize from ingredient labels. The practical effect for consumers, at least for now, is that the FDA has taken mandatory regulatory action on two older dyes while relying on company pledges for the six more common ones. (fda.gov) ### Which two dyes did FDA actually move against? Orange B and Citrus Red No. 2 are the two dyes at issue. FDA said Orange B’s food authorization was revoked in a final order, while Citrus Red No. 2 is still in the proposal stage pending public comment. (fda.gov) Citrus Red No. 2 has long had a narrow authorized use. FDA said it had been permitted since 1959 for coloring the skins of mature oranges, and that the agency tentatively concluded the use had been abandoned by industry. ### Why are Red 40 and Yellow 5 still allowed? April 22, 2025 is when HHS and FDA laid out the broader policy. (fda.gov) In that announcement, the agencies said they would begin revoking Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B while “working with industry” to eliminate the six remaining synthetic dyes from the food supply. FDA’s current tracker now says those six dyes are being targeted for elimination by the end of 2027, not through an immediate ban but through voluntary commitments from food companies and retailers. (fda.gov) The tracker lists pledges from companies including Campbell’s and Conagra, and says the summary reflects commitments as of Dec. 12, 2025. ### Are companies already changing products? Marion Nestle wrote on Aug. 5, 2026 that some cereal aisles were already showing the effects of voluntary reformulation. In a post on Food Politics, she said she could not find children’s cereals containing Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, and Blue 1 at a Target in Ithaca, New York, and described the broader shift as voluntary rather than regulatory. (fda.gov) FDA has made similar claims about industry movement. The agency says companies across the country are reformulating with alternative colors from natural sources and setting timelines to complete the transition. (fda.gov) ### What happens next in the regulatory process? August 24, 2026 is the deadline for public comments on the proposed revocation of Citrus Red No. 2. FDA said comments can be filed electronically under docket FDA-2026-N-6304 or by mail to the agency’s dockets staff in Rockville, Maryland. After that comment period closes, FDA said it will decide whether to finalize the Citrus Red No. 2 revocation. (foodpolitics.com) The six more common dyes remain subject to the agency’s voluntary phase-out effort, which FDA says runs through the end of 2027. (fda.gov 1) (fda.gov 2)