"Remove All Artificial Food Colors Within My Term" Final Ultimatum... US Food Companies in Turmoil

Secretary of Health Demands Removal of Artificial Colorants
from Food Companies in Executive Meeting

Robert Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has issued an ultimatum to major food corporations to completely remove artificial colorants from their products, Bloomberg News reported on the 11th (local time).

Reuters Yonhap News

According to an email sent by the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), a U.S. grocery retail industry group, to its member companies, Secretary Kennedy made this demand during a meeting with senior executives from major U.S. food companies the previous day.

Secretary Kennedy is prioritizing the removal of artificial colorants from food before the end of his term, and CBA stated that he made it clear he would take direct action if the food industry does not voluntarily seek solutions. The CBA added that they plan to discuss with HHS officials "the specific expectations the authorities have for the food industry and how HHS can assist in removing obstacles during the industry's process of providing solutions."

Senior executives from well-known U.S. food companies such as General Mills, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, and WK Kellogg, famous for cereals and yogurts, attended the meeting the previous day.

After the meeting, Secretary Kennedy posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), saying, "We will strengthen consumer trust by removing toxins from our food."

Health activists in the U.S. have long criticized food companies for adding artificial colorants, which have no nutritional value, to make unhealthy foods visually more appealing. Bloomberg News also reported concerns that these colorants may cause hyperactivity disorders or cancer in some children.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.