FDA will allow three new color additives made from minerals, algae and
flower petals
[May 10, 2025]
By JONEL ALECCIA
U.S. regulators said Friday that they would allow three new color
additives made from natural sources to be used in the nation's food
supply.
It comes after health officials pledged a sweeping phase-out of
petroleum-based dyes widely used in foods from cereals to sports drinks
to boost health — though action is still pending.
The Food and Drug Administration said it is granting petitions to allow
galdieria extract blue, a blue color derived from algae; calcium
phosphate, a white color derived from a naturally occurring mineral; and
butterfly pea flower extract, a blue color made from dried flower
petals.
The colors will be approved for use in a range of foods from fruit
drinks and yogurt to pretzels, ready-to-eat chicken and candies. The
move “will expand the palette of available colors from natural sources
for manufacturers to safely use in food,” FDA officials said in a
statement.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes
from foods, citing mixed studies indicating the dyes can cause
neurobehavioral problems for some children, including hyperactivity and
attention issues. The FDA has maintained for decades that the approved
dyes are safe and that “the totality of scientific evidence shows that
most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing
color additives.”
The new color approvals include a 2021 petition from the French company
Fermentalg to allow galdieria extract blue; a 2023 petition from
Innophos Inc. of Cranbury, New Jersey, to allow calcium phosphate; and a
2024 petition from Sensient Colors LLC of St. Louis, Missouri, to allow
butterfly pea flower extract.
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Bottles containing a variety of colored liquids sit on a shelf in a
lab at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing
company, in St. Louis., on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff
Roberson, File)
 The approvals are set to be
published in the federal register on May 12 and would take effect in
June.
In April, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA
Commissioner Marty Makary announced that they would take steps to
eliminate synthetic food dyes in the U.S. food supply by the end of
2026, largely through voluntary efforts from the food industry. The
officials also said they would revoke authorization for two
little-used artificial dyes, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, and
accelerate the timeline to remove Red 3, a food color banned in
January because of a link to cancer in laboratory rats.
The FDA plans to initiate the process to revoke those colors “within
the coming months,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and
Human Services said.
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