Do you regularly eat candy, rainbow-colored cereals, or packaged desserts? Whether you do or not, you may or may not know that the U.S. is making efforts to ban artificial food dyes by the end of 2026. Lots of foods, even the unexpected ones, could take on new colors under the plan from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A Plan To Get Rid Of Artificial Dyes

This plan urges major U.S. food manufacturers to halt the usage of two artificial colorings: Citrus Red 2 and Orange B. It also calls for the manufacturers to voluntarily give up six additional dyes by the end of 2026. Those dyes include:

• Yellow No. 5
• Yellow No. 6
• Blue No. 1
• Blue No. 2
• Red No. 40
• Green No. 3

Too long have major food producers fed American petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent. In fact, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that these poisonous chemicals offer zero nutritional benefits. They also pose serious, measurable threats to the health and development of children. Kennedy Jr. aims to put an end to that era. 

Although nutritionists and researchers agree that artificial food dyes offer no health benefits, the research linking these dyes to potential health risks is limited. Additionally, the existing research has been largely conducted on animals. For this reason, it is hard to say whether artificial dyes are dangerous. What is certain, though, is that these dyes do not improve health. They are replaceable and they are unnecessary and it benefits people to avoid them as much as possible. 

Unexpected Foods That Contain Artificial Dyes

Sure, you know that brightly colored gummy worms have zero nutritional value and they contain artificial dyes. What you may not know is that seemingly wholesome foods may also contain these dyes. We aim to highlight them below. 

Fresh Oranges

Are you shocked, or are you shocked? In the past, the FDA allowed companies to add Citrus Red 2 to the skins or oranges with the intention of making slightly greenish peels appear more orange. The peels of certain oranges may not become bright orange as they ripen, due to local climate conditions. For that reason, the FDA permitted the use of Citrus Red 2 to make the fruit appear more orange and perfectly ripe. 

Smoked Salmon

Fancy a bit of bagels and lox? When you buy salmon, or salmon fillets, the flesh is naturally orange. Well, smoked salmon can get its bright orange color from several dyes on the proposed ban list. Those dyes include Yellow No. 5 and No. 6 and Red No. 40. Some food manufacturers even use all three of those dyes, in addition to others, including Blue No. 1.

Salad Dressings

There are many bottled salad dressings, including French, Italian, and ranch, that may contain artificial dyes. It all depends on the manufacturer. For example, Kraft makes a French dressing that contains Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6, while Hidden Valley’s Light Golden Italian Dressing contains Yellow No. 6. There are other dressings that contain Blue No. 1 as well as Yellow No. 5. 

Wasabi Peas

This is not everyone’s go-to snack, but they are highly addictive to a lot of people. They are crunchy and flavorful, but they happen to be vibrantly green, which is cause for concern. For example, Valued Natural Wasabi Peas contain Yellow No. 5 and Blue No. 1. Oregon Farm Fresh Snacks Willamette Wasabi Mix contains both of those dyes, in addition to Red No. 40 and Yellow No. 6. 

Trail Mix

If you know anything about the content that Dherbs publishes, we always warn people about dried fruit. Most dried fruit contains added sugars, preservatives, and dyes to keep it looking like the fresh version of the fruit. Varieties without added sugars or dyes tend to appear brown or less attractive to consumers. The same can be said for the dried fruit in several varieties of trail mix. For example, CJ’s Trail Mix contains Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, and Red No. 40. Kirkland Signature Trail Mix sold at Costco contains those same artificial dyes.

Vincent Stevens

Vincent Stevens is the senior content writer at Dherbs. As a fitness and health and wellness enthusiast, he enjoys covering a variety of topics, including the latest health, fitness, beauty, and lifestyle trends. His goal is to inform people of different ways they can improve their overall health, which aligns with Dherbs’ core values. He received his bachelor’s degree in creative writing from the University of Redlands, graduating summa cum laude. He lives in Los Angeles, CA.