The Trump administration is taking a major step toward cleaning up America’s food supply—announcing plans to eliminate artificial petroleum-based food dyes linked to cancer and neurological harm.

In a Monday statement, the Department of Health and Human Services revealed that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary will hold a joint press conference in Washington to outline the plan. According to the announcement, the FDA will begin phasing out the use of synthetic food dyes in products sold in the U.S.

The sweeping reform is part of Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda, a national campaign targeting toxic food additives that have quietly infiltrated processed products for decades. The move comes on the heels of mounting state-level action—and growing public pressure.

“Since 2020, we’ve seen the scientific consensus solidify: synthetic dyes pose a real danger to children’s brain development and are linked to cancer,” Kennedy said in a statement. “It’s time to get these poisons out of our food.”

Among the dyes on the chopping block are Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3—all petroleum-based synthetic compounds. While these chemicals are banned in many European countries, they’ve remained legal in the U.S. for decades, despite studies showing their connection to behavioral issues and tumor growth in animal models.

Red 3 was banned from cosmetics in 1990 after it was shown to cause cancer in rats—but until now, it has remained legal in food.

Kennedy’s campaign has already seen success at the state level. In March, West Virginia became the first state in the nation to ban these dyes entirely. Republican Governor Patrick Morrisey credited RFK Jr. and the MAHA movement for inspiring the bill, and personally invited Kennedy to attend the signing.

Twenty-eight other states are now considering similar legislation, with lawmakers citing Kennedy’s advocacy and Trump’s FDA reforms as reasons to act.

“Time and again the FDA has failed to act when it comes to regulating potentially harmful food ingredients,” the Environmental Working Group wrote in a recent update. “In the absence of federal action, states have stepped up to protect their consumers from harmful food chemicals.”

That federal action has now arrived.

A 2021 review by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment found strong evidence linking synthetic food dyes to adverse neurobehavioral outcomes in children, with impact severity varying by individual.

The new ban will consolidate growing public concern into enforceable federal regulation—ending what critics say is a dangerous double standard that allows chemical-laced food to be sold to American families while being banned abroad.

While the Biden-era FDA had begun limited action—banning Red 3 in January—it failed to address the wider class of artificial dyes. Trump’s executive action goes far further, cutting through regulatory red tape and delivering a full-scale federal response.

Critics have long accused the FDA of dragging its feet under industry pressure. But under Trump, that has changed. The administration is making it clear: corporate lobbying will not come before children’s health.

The FDA did not specify an immediate timetable for enforcement, but said implementation guidance will follow Tuesday’s press conference. Food manufacturers are expected to receive a transition window before the ban takes full effect.

Kennedy has signaled that the ban is just the beginning. “This is about more than dyes,” he said. “It’s about reclaiming our health, our food system, and our future.”

With FDA enforcement underway and more states moving to adopt bans of their own, the MAHA movement appears to be turning into a national health revolution—one executive order at a time.