U.S. health officials on Tuesday said they would phase out petroleum-based artificial colors in the nation's food supply, potentially triggering an ingredients overhaul for scores of brightly hued products on American store shelves.The federal Food and Drug Administration will take steps to eliminate the synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference. The agency will establish a standard and timeline for industry to switch to natural alternatives, revoke authorization for dyes not in production within coming weeks and take steps to remove remaining dyes on the market.Makary said that removing artificial dyes would boost children's health.맥스카지노�For the last 50 years we have been running one of the largest uncontrolled scientific experiments in the world on our nation맥스카지노�s children without their consent,맥스카지노� Makary said.Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children. The FDA has maintained that the approved dyes are safe and that 맥스카지노�the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.맥스카지노� The FDA currently allows 36 food color additives, including eight synthetic dyes. In January, the agency announced that the dye known as Red 3 맥스카지노� used in candies, cakes and some medications 맥스카지노� would be banned in food by 2027 because it caused cancer in laboratory rats.Artificial dyes are used widely in U.S. foods. In Canada and in Europe 맥스카지노� where artificial colors are required to carry warning labels 맥스카지노� manufacturers mostly use natural substitutes. Several states, including California and West Virginia, have passed laws restricting the use of artificial colors in foods.The announcement drew praise from advocates who say the dyes carry health risks and serve no purpose beyond the cosmetic.맥스카지노�Their only purpose is to make food companies money,맥스카지노� said Dr. Peter Lurie, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest and a former FDA official. 맥스카지노�Food dyes help make ultraprocessed foods more attractive, especially to children, often by masking the absence of a colorful ingredient, like fruit.맥스카지노�Removing artificial dyes from foods has long been a goal of so-called MAHA moms, key supporters of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his 맥스카지노�Make America Healthy Again맥스카지노� initiatives. They were among protesters who signed petitions and rallied outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co. last year, demanding that the company remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals in the U.S.The group included Vani Hari, a popular food activist known as the Food Babe, who previously pressured the Kraft Heinz company to remove artificial dyes from its macaroni and cheese. Hari spoke at Tuesday's event.She said the action marks 맥스카지노�a new era맥스카지노� in safe food for children.However, food manufacturers said the action would unfairly target highly regulated color additives long confirmed to be safe.맥스카지노�There are not enough alternatives available to replace these products,맥스카지노� the International Association of Color Manufacturers said in a statement. "Supply chains will take an estimated five to 10 years to catch up and require importing more expensive ingredients grown in China, India and Mexico.맥스카지노�Video below: Expert discusses risks of Red Dye No. 3A spokesperson for the National Confectioners Association, a trade group for makers of candy, gum and mints, said the industry "needs time to find safe and viable alternatives.맥스카지노�Removing dyes from the food supply will not address the chief health problems that plague Americans, said Susan Mayne, a Yale University chronic disease expert and former director of the FDA맥스카지노�s food center.맥스카지노�With every one of their announcements, they맥스카지노�re focusing in on something that맥스카지노�s not going to accomplish what they say it is,맥스카지노� Mayne said of Kennedy's initiatives. 맥스카지노�Most of these food dyes have been in our food supply for 100 years. ... So why aren맥스카지노�t they driving toward reductions in things that do drive chronic disease rates?맥스카지노�In the past, FDA officials said the threat of legal action from the food industry required the government to have significant scientific evidence before banning additives. Red 3 was banned from cosmetics more than three decades before it was stripped from food and medicine. It took five decades for the FDA to ban brominated vegetable oil because of health concerns.But Lurie said industry officials might not challenge the Trump administration.맥스카지노�They don't want to get on the wrong side of a vindictive president,맥스카지노� he said.Hours before the announcement, the International Dairy Foods Association said its members would voluntarily eliminate artificial colors in milk, cheese and yogurt products sold to U.S. school meal programs by July 2026. Most dairy products for schools don't contain artificial colors, as most dairy processors have chosen not to use them or have already removed or replaced them, officials at the dairy trade group noted.Some of the state laws banning synthetic dyes in school meals have aggressive timelines. West Virginia맥스카지노�s ban, for example, prohibits red, yellow, blue and green artificial dyes in school meals starting Aug. 1. A broader ban will extend the restrictions to all foods sold in the state on Jan. 1, 2028.Many U.S. food companies are already reformulating their foods, according to Sensient Colors, one of the world맥스카지노�s largest producers of food dyes and flavorings. In place of synthetic dyes, food makers can use natural hues made from beets, algae and crushed insects and pigments from purple sweet potatoes, radishes and red cabbage.___Aleccia reported from California.