Kennedy Gives Food Company Ceos An Ultimatum On Artificial Dyes

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a stark ultimatum to major food company CEOs in a closed-door meeting this week: Ban certain artificial dyes from your products or the government will do it for you.

Kennedy on Monday pressed leaders of companies like PepsiCo, General Mills, Tyson Foods, Smucker’s, Kraft Heinz and Kellogg’s for commitments to reduce food additives, according to a readout of the meeting sent to industry stakeholders and viewed by POLITICO. It was the Health and Human Services secretary’s first major meeting with the very executives he'd spent months accusing of making Americans sick.

“[Kennedy] expressed the strong desire and urgent priority of the administration to remove FD&C colors from the food supply — and he wants this done before he leaves office,” wrote Consumer Brands Association President Melissa Hockstad in the readout sent to industry, referring to color additives used in foods, drugs and cosmetics.

“He expects ‘real and transformative’ change by ‘getting the worst ingredients out’ of food,” she added, quoting the secretary.

Kennedy’s demands show that he’s prioritizing using his office as a bully pulpit to implement the Make America Healthy Again agenda he pushed on the campaign trail — even if that puts him at odds with the powerful food lobby. While he may have to rely on Congress to help ban some additives and chemicals outright, lawmakers from both parties have indicated their willingness to join him in a food crackdown.

Kennedy posted on X late Monday that he had a “great discussion … on advancing food safety and radical transparency to protect the health of all Americans, especially our children. We will strengthen consumer trust by getting toxins out of our food.”

Just hours after the meeting concluded, Kennedy announced he was directing the Food and Drug Administration to explore ways to eliminate a loophole that lets food and beverage companies bring new ingredients to market without agency oversight.

The FDA already banned Red Dye No. 3, a change that takes effect in 2027. But Jim Jones, who was helming that push as the agency's deputy commissioner for human foods, abruptly resigned after the Trump administration fired thousands of probationary workers, including FDA employees.

Kennedy on Tuesday is set to host a roundtable at the White House with a group of influencers from the MAHA movement, many of whom have advocated for crackdowns on additives and ultra-processed food, said three people familiar with the matter, who were granted anonymity because the meeting is not yet public.

HHS declined to comment. Food Fix first reported the message sent to industry.

Hockstad also noted in the letter that FDA acting deputy commissioner for human foods Kyle Diamantas, who attended the meeting, “recognized the industry can’t do this alone and that the FDA will step up and work with us to reinforce the need for a federal framework and avoid state patchworks.”

California has passed laws banning certain food additives like Red Dye No. 3 and brominated vegetable oil. At least a dozen other states including West Virginia and New York are pressing ahead with legislation to institute similar bans.

The meeting also included acting FDA Commissioner Sara Brenner and HHS Chief of Staff Heather Flick Melanson, Hockstad’s email noted.

After Monday's meeting, Hockstad sent a separate letter to HHS, thanking Kennedy for a “constructive conversation” and pointing to industry’s progress on reducing “saturated fat, sugar, sodium and certain colors,” according to a copy shared with POLITICO.

“We will engage with you and the administration on solutions to improve transparency, ensure ingredient evaluations are grounded in a science and risk-based process and increase healthier options for consumers,” she wrote.