Overview

• The HHS and FDA’s voluntary MAHA roadmap targets removal of nine petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026 alongside a mandatory ban on Red Dye No. 3 starting January 15, 2027.
• Nestlé, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo and Conagra have pledged to eliminate synthetic colorants from their products by 2026–27 under federal guidance.
• Mars, the maker of M&M’s and Skittles, refuses to reformulate without enforceable federal mandates, citing supply constraints and cost concerns.
• Texas’s Make Texas Healthy Again Act will require warning labels on foods with any of 44 listed synthetic dyes beginning January 1, 2027, while West Virginia will ban most artificial colors in foods from 2028.
• Officials point to animal studies linking certain dyes to cancer and research connecting them to behavioral issues in children as the basis for heightened regulation.