Additional Coverage:
Kennedy Pushes Food Execs to Ditch Artificial Dyes
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. met with food industry giants on Monday, urging them to eliminate artificial food dyes. Kennedy stressed the urgency of removing these “worst ingredients,” indicating his willingness to take action if companies don’t cooperate.
The meeting included CEOs from major food corporations such as PepsiCo North America, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Tyson Foods, W.K. Kellogg, and J.M.
Smucker. While Kennedy expressed a desire to collaborate with the industry, he emphasized that he would intervene if necessary to achieve his goal of eliminating these dyes by the end of his term.
The Consumer Brands Association, which summarized the meeting in a memo, described the discussion as “constructive.” Both the Association and PepsiCo expressed their appreciation for the meeting and their willingness to continue working with Kennedy and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy leads a vast agency with a budget of $1.7 trillion, responsible for overseeing a wide range of areas including food and tobacco products, vaccines, medicines, scientific research, public health infrastructure, and government-funded healthcare. His “Make America Healthy Again” platform centers on the belief that a corrupt alliance between food and drug companies and their regulators is contributing to declining health in the US. He has pledged to combat this trend by prioritizing nutritious food.
The FDA’s January revocation of authorization for Red No. 3, a cancer-causing dye in lab animals, foreshadows this broader push. Kennedy, a known vaccine skeptic, is also reportedly taking steps to review the childhood vaccination schedule and potentially reshape advisory committees on vaccine approvals and other public health decisions.