USA ice cream companies to phase out artificial colors by 2028

USA – International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), a trade organization representing the USA dairy industry, has announced that Dozens of USA ice cream producers are planning to remove artificial colors from their products by 2028.

The IDFA said that the 40 ice cream companies will remove Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 from their retail products, excluding non-dairy products.

The IDFA said artificial dyes are not safe, and ice cream makers are taking the step in part to avoid disruption of sales from state efforts to phase out dyes from school foods and West Virginia’s recent food dye ban.

While scooping ice cream on the steps of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) headquarters, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., congratulated the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) on the dairy industry’s commitment to eliminate artificial food dyes from their ice creams.

“I applaud the International Dairy Foods Association for stepping up to eliminate certified artificial colors,” Secretary Kennedy said. “The American people have made it clear—they want real food, not chemicals. Together with Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins and U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, we’re holding the food industry accountable and driving a nationwide effort to Make America Healthy Again.”

FDA Approves Gardenia (Genipin) Blue Color Additive 

Concurrently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has granted Gardenia Blue Interest Group’s (GBIG) color additive petition to use the color gardenia (genipin) blue in various foods, at levels consistent with good manufacturing practice. It is the fourth color derived from natural sources approved by the FDA for use in foods in the last two months.

Gardenia (genipin) blue is derived from the fruit of the gardenia, a flowering evergreen. The FDA has approved the color additive for use in sports drinks, flavored or enhanced non-carbonated water, fruit drinks and ades, ready-to-drink teas, hard candy, and soft candy.

“This expedited timeline underscored our serious intent to transition away from petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the food supply, said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. “Now, by expanding the palette of available colors derived from natural sources, food manufacturers have a variety of options available that will make it easier to end their use of petroleum-based dyes.”

The FDA action is in line with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s priority to work with industry to phase out the use of all synthetic, petroleum-based dyes from the nation’s food supply as part of the administration’s broader Make America Healthy Again initiative.

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