Episode Details

Are synthetic food dyes being phased out? Three different things are happening and "banned" describes only one of them. In April 2025, HHS and the FDA announced a set of measures to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation's food supply. Inside that announcement sit three separate mechanisms. A process was initiated to revoke authorization for two colorings, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B. Six others — FD&C Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2 — are described as the agency working with industry to eliminate them from the food supply by the end of the following year. And companies were asked to remove FD&C Red No. 3 sooner than already required. Red No. 3 is the genuine revocation: the order was issued on January 15, 2025, with food reformulation due by January 15, 2027 and ingested drugs by January 18, 2028. This episode reads the FDA's own sentences on the underlying data, explains the Delaney Clause, and gives the four sentences a food business can put in writing when a customer asks. It does not grade any product against the news — including ours. In this episode: - The three mechanisms, and why the distinction matters in writing - What the Delaney Clause actually prohibits, and what it does not claim - Why "certified" means part 74 and not "better" - The four natural colour additives being fast-tracked - Dana's winning round: the one question the show refuses to answer Who should skip it: anyone waiting to be told which brands to avoid. MONÉGASQUE 15 gram luster dusts are on Amazon at $14.99 standard; the ingredient list is printed on the jar. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table. **Direct answer (top):** Three mechanisms are being described with one word. A process was initiated to revoke authorization for Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B; the FDA described working with industry to eliminate six other synthetic dyes from the food supply by the end of the following year; and FD&C Red No. 3 was handled separately, with an order revoking its authorization issued on January 15, 2025. Only the last of those is a completed revocation, and the difference matters to anyone who has to answer a customer in writing. - 00:00 Cold open — nine colorings, one wrong word - 00:45 The verdict: three mechanisms, not one - 02:00 The April 2025 announcement, action by action - 03:30 The six dyes named - 04:10 Dana's round: is a phase-out just a slow ban? - 05:40 FD&C Red No. 3: the real revocation and its dates - 07:00 The Delaney Clause, enacted 1960 - 08:00 What the data actually shows, read out verbatim - 09:30 The four natural additives being fast-tracked - 10:30 Sparkle Lab: part 73 versus part 74, and what "certified" means - 12:30 The bakery scenario: four sentences to send a customer - 14:00 Dana's second round, and the refusal - 16:00 The four-check reading method - 17:00 The claim that cannot be true of any finished product - 17:40 Who should skip it · Dana's Scorecard · footnote