Consumer Brands Reveals ‘Voluntary Initiative’ to Remove Artificial Colors

The Consumer Brands Assn. on July 22 unveiled a “voluntary commitment” – a suggestion to members, really – encouraging food & beverage makers to stop using certified Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors in products by Dec. 31, 2027.

The initiative builds on CBA’s similarly voluntary commitment, announced on July 11, to have its members remove colors from school foods by the start of the 2026-2027 school year.

The colors, of course, are the usual suspects: Blue 1 & 2, Green 3, Red 40 and Yellow 5 & 6. Red 3 was not mentioned, presumably because it's already been banned by FDA effective Jan. 15, 2027.

The announcement did not mention any supporting companies by name, although at least eight big-name processors, presumably Consumer Brands members, made commitments earlier. Despite the nudge, the Consumer Brands news release did note “the U.S. FDA, along with other global food safety authorities, has reaffirmed the safety of artificial colors.”

“President Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary have made the removal of artificial colors a top priority,” CBA said. “This initiative is another example of the Trump Administration and industry working together to bring results quickly to the American people. The FDA is committed to avoiding state patchworks, consumer confusion and barriers to product access and affordability.”

“This is an example of companies taking voluntary action to remove safe ingredients to meet consumer demand for alternatives,” said Melissa Hockstad, CBA’s president/CEO. “As the industry takes this voluntary step, it’s critical the Trump administration supports federal uniformity.”

Hockstad apparently is talking about the efforts in an estimated 30 states to ban or regulate food ingredients, especially those colors. Some state laws already are on the books waiting for their effective dates. While there’s a lot of uniformity, especially in banning the seven FD&C colors, many of the statutes target disparate ingredients, potentially making interstate commerce difficult for national brands.

West Virginia's law, the most imminent, bans those color additives from use in school lunches with the start of this coming school year (Aug. 1). A recently passed law in Texas requires warning labels on 44 ingredients; Louisiana’s lists at least 50 ingredients that are either prohibited in schools or banned throughout the state; but the effective dates of those Texas and Louisiana laws are two and three years in the future.