A West Virginia law signed this week bans synthetic dyes and preservatives in food, marking a first-in-the-nation consumer protection led by Republicans despite opposition from the industry. West Virginia’s law is part of a broader trend across the country as Republican state lawmakers join the movement to “make America healthy again.” The result has been a surge in proposed legislation to ban synthetic dyes, preservatives, and chemicals in food packaging, an issue that consumer advocates have campaigned for over the years.
Jensen Jose, regulatory counsel for the non-profit group Center for Science in the Public Interest, said there is growing bipartisan interest in banning these chemicals, as well as bipartisan frustration with how the FDA is operating. West Virginia’s new law is inspired by a similar ban in California that prohibits certain dyes from school meals, and the Biden administration’s recent ban on Red Dye No 3.
However, the movement also highlights the tenuous alliance between science-based consumer advocates and Republican lawmakers, whose party has a history of science denialism. The figurehead of this movement is Trump’s new health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has been a leading vaccine skeptic in the past. Kennedy has already downplayed the value of vaccines and promoted alternative remedies, proposed cuts to the department’s staff, and appears poised to undermine mRNA technology, which is considered the silver lining of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Trump administration’s aggressive cuts led Jim Jones, the FDA’s food safety chief, to resign.
West Virginia’s law will ban certain dyes and preservatives from school foods starting this August, and from all foods sold in the state by 2028. The law faced fierce opposition, with lobbyists warning of higher food prices and scarcity of available products in stores. However, consumer advocates argue that the FDA’s “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) designation regulation is a loophole that is not thoroughly reviewed by the agency.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/30/west-virginia-food-dye-ban
