FDA approves, expands 3 natural color additives after RFK Jr.’s plan to remove artificial food dyes
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(WASHINGTON) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved on Friday additional color additives from natural sources in line with the Department of Health and Human Services’ goal to eliminate artificial food dyes.
The agency approved two dyes and expanded approval of a third, meaning it can now be used in a wider range of food products.
“Today we take a major step to Make America Healthy Again,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement. “For too long, our food system has relied on synthetic, petroleum-based dyes that offer no nutritional value and pose unnecessary health risks. We’re removing these dyes and approving safe, natural alternatives — to protect families and support healthier choices.”
The approved additives include Galdieria extract blue, which is derived from algae; butterfly pea flower extract from the butterfly pea flower; and calcium phosphate, a natural compound containing calcium and phosphorus.
Galdieria extract blue has been approved by the FDA to be used in several products including fruit juices, fruit smoothies, candy, chewing gum, breakfast cereals, popsicles and yogurts.
Butterfly pea flower extract, which is already used to color most of the above, had its use expanded to color ready-to-eat cereals, crackers, snack mixes, hard pretzels, plain potato chips, plain corn chips, tortilla chips and multigrain chips.
Calcium phosphate was approved for use in ready-to-eat chicken products, white candy melts, doughnut sugar and sugar for coated candies.
The approvals come after comments from Kennedy about his opposition to artificial dyes, claiming they are harmful and calling for them to be removed from foods and beverages. Under Kennedy, the FDA has sought voluntary commitments from food companies that they will phase out synthetic dyes.
Since then, some U.S. food manufacturers, including Tyson Foods, have said they are working to eliminate artificial food dyes.
Nutritionists and dietitians are divided over whether or not synthetic food dyes are harmful, or the extent to which they are harmful, but all agree they do not have any nutritional value.
FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary told reporters on Friday that he is meeting with the Consumer Brand Association, touting the administration’s efforts to remove dyes from the U.S. food supply.
“On April 22, I said the FDA would soon approve several new color additives and would accelerate our review of others. I’m pleased to report that promises made, have been promises kept,” Makary said in a statement. “FDA staff have been moving quickly to expedite the publication of these decisions, underscoring our serious intent to transition away from petroleum-based dyes in the food supply and provide new colors from natural sources.”
(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to testify before two congressional committees on Wednesday to discuss, among many topics, the Trump administration’s proposed budget and its impact on HHS.
Kennedy will appear before the House Appropriations Committee Wednesday morning and the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee in the afternoon.
Last month, the HELP Committee called Kennedy to testify on the restructuring of the department.
In April, HHS began laying off about 10,000 workers and consolidating 28 institutes and centers into 15 new divisions.
Including the roughly 10,000 people who have left over the last few months through early retirement or deferred resignation programs, the overall staff at HHS is expected to fall from 82,000 to around 62,000 — or about a quarter of its workforce.
In a video statement posted on X prior to the layoffs, Kennedy said that he plans to bring to the agency a “clear sense of mission to radically improve the health of Americans and to improve agency morale.”
Kennedy has defended the cuts as necessary to weed out wasteful spending at one of America’s largest departments, but he has drawn criticism for laying off people who are responsible for regulating tobacco usage, monitoring lead exposure in children and diagnosing black lung disease in miners.
The secretary himself has appeared not to know about some of the cuts, telling CBS News last month he was “not familiar” with several cuts cited by the outlet.
Wednesday will mark the first time Kennedy has testified before Congress since his confirmation hearings in late January, and he may be forced to confront statements he made that critics say are evidence of promises broken.
Kennedy said several times during his hearing in January that he supports vaccines, although he refused to unequivocally say that vaccines don’t cause autism, despite numerous existing studies already showing there is no link.
“I support the measles vaccine. I support the polio vaccine. I will do nothing as HHS secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking either of those vaccines,” Kennedy said.
However, in March, the HHS confirmed that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will study whether vaccines cause autism.
Additionally, in the wake of several ongoing measles outbreaks across the U.S. and over 1,000 cases so far this year, Kennedy has shared contradicting views about vaccines.
In a post on X on April 6, Kennedy said that the “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles” is to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, in a post later that evening, he said more than 300 children have been treated with an antibiotic and a steroid, neither of which are recognized treatments or cures for measles.
Kennedy’s embrace of anti-vaccine ideas nearly put his confirmation in jeopardy, as he faced resistance from Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who heads the HELP committee. Cassidy expressed concerns about Kennedy’s views on vaccines before ultimately voting to move him through the confirmation process in February.
Cassidy said, at the time, that Kennedy assured him he would not alter vaccine policy without “ironclad” scientific evidence. The senator added that Kennedy and Trump officials promised him an “unprecedentedly close collaborate working relationship” with the secretary.
Currently, Cassidy does not believe Kennedy has violated the commitments he made to him, a person familiar with the senator’s thinking told ABC News.
The men speak multiple times per week and have maintained a productive relationship, three people with knowledge of their dynamic said.
An HHS spokesperson said Kennedy “maintains a professional and respectful relationship with Senator Cassidy, grounded in a shared commitment to public health and evidence-based policymaking.”
Cassidy plans to tell Kennedy on Wednesday that the secretary can “set the record straight” about how HHS will “maintain its critical duties and implement change important to Americans’ health,” according to an excerpt of Cassidy’s remarks, which were obtained by ABC News.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Anne Flaherty contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced he will be nominating Dr. Casey Means for U.S. surgeon general, replacing his former pick, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, after questions emerged about her credentials.
Means has been prominent in the “Make America Healthy Again” movement championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
In a post on social media, Trump said Means would work closely with Kennedy “to ensure a successful implementation of our Agenda in order to reverse the Chronic Disease Epidemic, and ensure Great Health, in the future, for ALL Americans.”
Means describes herself online as a “former surgeon turned metabolic health evangelist” who is “striving to create a happier and healthier world and planet.”
Here is what we know about Means’ background and what her views are on various health topics.
Medical background
Means graduated from Stanford University in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in human biology and a doctor of medicine degree from Stanford School of Medicine in 2014, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She was a resident physician at Oregon Health and Science University with the goal of becoming an otolaryngology surgeon, also known as a head and neck surgeon, but she dropped out in her fifth year.
“During my training as a surgeon, I saw how broken and exploitative the healthcare system is and left to focus on how to keep people out of the operating room,” she wrote on her website.
Means went on to study functional medicine, which looks to prevent disease and illness. She is not board-certified in a medical specialty.
Following her exit from the residency, she was a guest lecturer at Stanford for less than a year and an associate editor at the International Journal of Disease Reversal and Prevention for two and a half years, according to LinkedIn.
Over the course of her career, she co-founded Levels, an app that allows people to track their food. along with biometric data like sleep and glucose monitoring, to see how their diet is impacting their health.
Rise to prominence
Means wrote a book with her brother, Calley Means, titled “Good Energy,” which was published in May 2024 and allegedly takes a look at why Americans are sick and how to fix it.
The Means siblings appeared on podcasts, including The Tucker Carlson Show in August 2024 and The Joe Rogan Experience in October 2024.
On Tucker Carlson’s show, Casey Means said birth control is being “prescribed like candy” and that Ozempic has a “stranglehold on the U.S. population.”
The siblings rose to prominence within the Trump campaign and among Trump allies, including Kennedy. They appeared at a September 2024 roundtable discussion on health with Kennedy hosted by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc.
“The message I’m here to share and reiterate is that American health is getting destroyed,” Casey Means said during her opening remarks. “It’s being destroyed because of chronic illness.”
Meanwhile, Calley Means currently serves as White House senior adviser and special government employee. He has worked closely with Kennedy and has touted many of his health proposals.
Controversial views
Casey Means’ views mirror those of Kennedy’s with a focus on tackling the chronic disease epidemic, creating a healthier food supply and expressing vaccine skepticism.
She has called for the removal of ultra-processed foods in school lunches and has advocated for organic, regenerative foods in school meals.
In 2021, she wrote in a post on X that glucose “as a molecule has caused more destruction of the human mind and body than any other substance in human history.”
Glucose is a naturally occurring molecule that our body depends on for energy.
Casey Means has expressed skepticism about the safety of childhood vaccines and has called for more research on the “safety of the cumulative effects” of vaccines when following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine schedule, she wrote in her Good Energy newsletter.
“There is growing evidence that the total burden of the current extreme and growing vaccine schedule is causing health declines in vulnerable children. This needs to be investigated,” she continued.
She has also criticized the administration of hepatitis B vaccine among infants, which is recommended by the CDC.
There is currently no evidence to suggest that childhood vaccines or the current CDC vaccine schedule are unsafe.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Kelsey Walsh contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — The first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term have been filled with mass firings, cancellations of research grants, university funding cuts and questions over what should be studied.
Thousands of people have been let go at federal agencies and critical research has been put on hold. Additionally, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has questioned the safety and efficacy of vaccines and antidepressant medications despite dozens of studies proving they are safe and effective.
Doctors and public health specialists critical of the administration tell ABC News they view these actions as an “attack” on science, damaging the reputation of respected agencies and by questioning what is believed to be established science.
“It’s completely unprecedented,” Steve Cohen, senior vice dean of Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies and a professor of public affairs at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs, told ABC News. “It’s frankly a little unhinged. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The White House did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
An HHS official told ABC News that framing the actions of the admiration as an “attack” is “fundamentally dishonest.”
“Further reviewing pharmaceutical products with gold standard science and common sense is not an'”attack on science’ — it’s what the American people have asked for and deserve,” the official said. ” Let’s be clear: Secretary Kennedy is not anti-vaccine — he is pro-safety, pro-transparency, and pro-accountability.”
Thousands of layoffs
Earlier this month, HHS began to lay off 10,000 workers as part of a massive restructuring plan.
Sources previously told ABC News that affected offices included most of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health, key offices in the Center for Tobacco Products, most of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the entire assisted reproductive technology team at the CDC.
There have also been local impacts in communities due to federal layoffs. ABC News previously reported in March, the CDC was poised to send its lead ‘disease detectives’ to Milwaukee amid an ongoing lead crisis in schools, but the entire division was cut under sweeping HHS layoffs, leaving local health officials without help they were relying on.
Erik Svendsen, the director of the division that oversaw the CDC’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention branch, previously told ABC News that what’s happening in Milwaukee is a real world example of the impact of their absence.
“Without us, there is no other unit at the federal level that is here to support them in doing what they need to do,” he said.
On Monday, officials in Milwaukee announced two additional schools are closing due to this crisis
Despite Kennedy saying some programs and employees would soon be reinstated because they were mistakenly cut, it still leaves thousands of federal employees without jobs.
Scientists have also been laid off at NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Cohen said these firings have put studies on hold and have greatly reduced the capacity of the federal government to review research.
“Scientists inside agencies, whether they’re environmental scientists or medical scientists or people focusing on vaccines or drugs, are being fired, and so some of the research capacity in Washington, in the federal government is being eliminated, and also their ability to judge proposals from universities,” he said.
“The only place I haven’t seen [firings] happen yet are the laboratories,” Cohen added.
Cuts that are currently proposed or have already been implemented include the elimination of the Office of Infectious Disease and HIV Policy, created by Brett Giroir, the former U.S. assistant secretary for health.
Giroir, who helped convince Trump in his first term to set a goal to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S., wrote in a post on social media last week that the president could ruin his legacy and mission with such cuts.
Canceling research grants, funding cuts to universities
Millions of dollars’ worth of grants have been terminated at the National Institutes of Health related to studies involving LGBTQ+ issues, gender identity and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) because they do not “effectuate” the “priorities” of President Donald Trump’s administration, according to copies of termination letters sent to grant recipients and viewed by ABC News.
Dr. Harold Varmus, a cancer researcher at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City and former director of the NIH, said these terminations are “detrimental” because they may be affecting people in the middle of clinical trials, or affecting the early stages of experimental work.
Research projects focusing on minority populations have major benefits, Varmus noted.
“The purpose of health research in this country is to address problems faced by everybody and to explore every facet of a population that may affect their health,” he said. “To single out certain categories of individuals who would not be appropriate to study seems ludicrous to me … one of the great strengths of America is that we are diverse.”
Universities have also been threatened with funding cuts — or have seen funds frozen — if they don’t fulfill their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act to protect Jewish students on campus and to end race-based programs.
Cohen believes universities are at odds with the administration because some on the political right view universities as “left wing.” By “weakening the finances of universities, they can force them to change the ideologies that they believe are being promoted in the classrooms,” he argued.
The problem with this idea, according to Cohen, is that the administration’s actions are hurting the least ideological parts of universities, such as engineering schools or medical centers. At Columbia, for example, several institutes and centers are conducting Alzheimer’s research, he said.
“Those are the places that are being attacked,” Cohen said. “It’s pretty ironic, but the greatest danger, actually, is that one of America’s fundamental economic strengths is the creativity and the innovation of our scientists, and that is now under attack by the Trump administration.”
Questioning safety, efficacy of vaccines
Kennedy has shared vaccine skepticism in the past and has continued to do so as HHS secretary.
In the wake of several ongoing measles outbreaks and over 800 cases so far this year, Kennedy has shared contradicting views about vaccines.
In a post on X on April 6, he said that “most effective way to prevent the spread of measles” is to receive the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. However, in a post later that evening, he said more than 300 children have been treated with an antibiotic and a steroid, neither of which are cures for measles.
Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, said the statements Kennedy has made in support of the MMR vaccine are “half-hearted.”
“The reason I say ‘half-hearted’ or insufficient is because each time he talks about using the MMR vaccine, he qualifies it,” Hotez told ABC News. “He then draws this false equivalency between either getting the MMR vaccine or this cocktail of interventions that would do absolutely nothing.”
Last month, HHS confirmed that the CDC will study “all the potential culprits” including whether vaccines cause autism despite numerous existing studies already showing there is no link.
Hotez said epidemiologic studies show that children who received either the MMR vaccine, or vaccines containing thimerosal — a compound used as a preservative in vaccines — are not more likely to be diagnosed autism than kids who didn’t receive those vaccines.
Additionally, Hotez said about 100 genes have been identified that are involved in the development of autism, many by the Broad Institute at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
He believes rising rates of autism diagnoses are likely due to wider testing and expanding diagnostic criteria. Hotez added that there could be an environmental exposure influencing autism genes, but that it’s not vaccines.
In 2017, he discussed with Kennedy an investigation looking at “about half a dozen chemical exposures” in early pregnancies but Kennedy “had no interest,” according to Hotez, who later documented these conversations in a book he published in 2018.
“He apparently seems to not understand the science or doesn’t care about the science. He’s got his fixed beliefs and doesn’t want to let any of the facts or scientific findings get in the way of his fixed belief,” Hotez said. “And it’s completely irresponsible having someone like that as Health and Human Services secretary.”
Claims around antidepressant use
Earlier this year, Trump issued an executive order to study the use of several medications including antidepressants and antipsychotics.
The order called for the formation of the “Make America Healthy Again” commission — to be chaired by Kennedy — with an aim to understand chronic diseases.
Among the goals of the commission is to “assess the prevalence of and threat posed by the prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, stimulants, and weight-loss drugs.”
Dr. Joseph Saseen, associate dean for clinical affairs and a professor in the departments of clinical pharmacy and family medicine at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado, said there are plenty of studies and analyses in the medical literature looking at the prevalence of SSRIs.
“We have an overwhelming amount of information,” he told ABC News. “These medicines, particularly SSRIs, are the most frequently prescribed antidepressants for patients with major depressive disorder. There is a plethora of information evaluating efficacy in a broad range of patient populations for which these medicines are indicated.”
Saseen says these medications do have side effects, just like any drug, but the benefits significantly outweigh the risks for most people in the general population who have major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders.
Kennedy has also falsely linked the use of antidepressants to school shootings and claimed during his Senate confirmation hearings that members of his family had a harder time stopping SSRI use than heroin use.
Experts have said there is no evidence that equates ending the use of antidepressants to ending the use of heroin or to suggest that people on SSRIs are more likely to be violent.
Saseen said it’s reasonable to question scientific research, either to reaffirm or dispute findings, but it must be done following the scientific method.
“Question it the real way, not the cowardly way,” he said. “The cowardly way is labeling things as threats or as bad without taking a scientific approach. The key is you need to use appropriate methodologies, not vocal inflections and very triggering and polarizing words to create an uprising.”
ABC News’ Dr. Jade Cobern, Cheyenne Haslett, Will McDuffie and Sony Salzman contributed to this report.
