Under RFK, Jr.’s leadership, the FDA has announced plans to phase out the use of eight separate food dyes here in the US.
These dyes are in a LOT of food.
Especially popular cereals.
So I decided to put together a quick list for you. Save you a little research time.
Better to know, right?
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Honestly, these dyes seem to be basically everywhere.
They’re in…
Extremely common grocery staples.
All kinds of places.
But especially cereal.
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Here are all eight of the dyes that are being phased out:
– Citrus red 2
– Orange B
– Red 3
– Red 40
– Yellow 5
– Yellow 6
– Blue 1
– Blue 2
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The FDA is not mandating that food companies stop using these dyes – at least not yet – so it’s largely up to voluntary industry compliance.
And so far, most of the impacted industries have said some version of “ok, we’ll do that.”
My hope is that this is an orderly transition and we don’t have shortages – given that it’s voluntary and the food producers have lots of time to tweak their recipes, I think things will be ok.
And the FDA is doing what it can to help, especially…
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Fast-tracking new dyes.
After all, if you get rid of many of the major dyes without any replacements…you’re left with a bunch of brown food!
That would be, obviously, not great.
The FDA has already approved three new dyes to help close the gap:
– Galdieria extract blue
– Butterfly pea flower extract
– Calcium phosphate
Meanwhile, here are the popular cereals that will likely need to see some recipe changes soon:
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It turns out that those cheerfully bright loops come with a cost.
More specifically, Froot Loops contain Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Red 40.
Fortunately, even once the dyes are hopefully changed, the cereal itself should taste the same.
(In fact, the loops have always had the same taste as each other – if you thought they tasted different from each other, that’s just the colors fooling your brain!)
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“Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!”
I cannot tell you how many times I heard that line during my childhood.
And Trix was always one of my favorite cereals.
But it turns out that they have a number of artificial dyes that are now banned – Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 1. Those ingredients are going to have to change!
(But hopefully the colors will stay. It’s such a fun cereal.)
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“They’re magically delicious!”
We all know the Lucky Charms leprechaun from commercials stretching back over the decades.
And more importantly, we all also know to just eat the marshmallows, with as little of the cereal part included as possible!
(Or at least, my kids picked that up immediately when we bought a box for them.)
Unfortunately, Lucky Charms has Red 40, Blue 1, and Yellow 5 and 6 – yet another popular cereal that’s going to have to change.
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Fruity Pebbles has been around since the ’70s, and of course was originally built around the Flintstones.
(A series of cultural references there that nobody under 20 understands any more.)
I think we all already knew that Fruity Pebbles were pretty unhealthy, but add these to the list:
– Red 40
– Yellow 5
– Yellow 6
– Blue 1
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Cap’n Crunch is an old favorite – I loved when they added the berries, as they brought in both visual interest and new flavors.
Well – turns out there’s a drawback to them: Lots of food dyes!
More specifically:
– Red 40
– Blue 1
– Yellow 5
– Yellow 6
Of course, the specifics differ a bit based on different varieties – this is for Cap’n Crunch Berries. But you get the gist!
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This one was really surprising to me – unlike most of the other cereals on this list, Apple Jacks don’t have, like, neon colors.
You know? I guess that lulled me into thinking that they were a bit healthier and had less of these artificial dyes.
Nope – Apple Jacks has:
– Red 40
– Yellow 5
– Yellow 6
– Blue 1
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Honestly, this was a huge surprise to me. Because even Apple Jacks have some colors…
But Count Chocula? They’re just brown! And chocolatey!
Well – turns out they have many of these same dyes:
– Red 40
– Yellow 5
– Yellow 6
– Blue 1
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If you want your children to have cereals without these eight dyes, there aren’t a ton of options that taste as good. (Just being honest here.)
Cocoa Pebbles is one. So is Frosted Flakes. And you’ve got Cinnamon Toast Crunch, too.
So there are a few alternatives you can use while waiting for the seven I highlighted above to change their recipes.
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So there you have it – seven very popular kids’ cereals that have these banned ingredients.
Does this change what you’re eating?
How are YOU impacted by the food dye ban?
Let us know in the comments!
And as always…
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For more info on important stories like this, follow The Coconut Mama!
• For fun lists, healthy living tips, and bar conversation topics, make sure to follow The Coconut Mama. Click here to access The Coconut Mama’s profile page and be sure to hit the Follow button here or at the top of this article!
• Have feedback? Add a comment below!
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