Laws
The FDA food dye phase-out, order by order
Since 2024 the FDA has taken several steps on synthetic dyes and additives. Some are binding orders with dates; one is a proposal; the largest is a request without legal force.
Is this dye or additive banned in your state?
FD&C Red No. 3 in New York, November 5, 2026
FDA ban from January 15, 2027
| FDA | FDA ban ordered, not yet in effect FDA revoked its listing for food (including dietary supplements) and ingested drugs on January 16, 2025 (90 FR 4628). The order applies to food from January 15, 2027 and to ingested drugs from January 18, 2028; the stay caused by objections was lifted on August 5, 2026 (91 FR 50475). |
| all food sold | Bill passed by the legislature, not law S1239 (2025-2026). |
FD&C Red No. 3, E127, CAS 16423-68-0. School rules cover food served or sold to students, not grocery shelves. Legal status only, not health advice.
All dye and additive rules in New YorkThe FDA's actions on food colors fall into three levels of force. Binding orders, published in the Federal Register, end a listing on a set date: brominated vegetable oil from August 2, 2024, Orange B from September 8, 2026, and Red 3 from January 15, 2027 for food and January 18, 2028 for ingested drugs. A proposal is a step toward an order: the FDA proposed on July 23, 2026 to revoke Citrus Red 2, and no final order had followed by November 1, 2026. A request has no legal force: on April 22, 2025, the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services announced they would work with industry to eliminate Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2 and Green 3 from the food supply, and the agency now tracks company pledges against a target of the end of 2027. Those six dyes remain listed. The agency also approved new natural colors and changed its policy on "no artificial colors" claims.
Quick check: one dye, one state, today
Red 3 in Florida, November 5, 2026
FDA ban from January 15, 2027
| FDA | FDA ban ordered, not yet in effect |
| State law: none found at the official sources read | |
Legal status only, not health advice.
Laws and FDA orders read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Federal status of each tracked substance
| Substance | Federal rule | Status today | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red 40 | 21 CFR 74.340 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Red 3 | 21 CFR 74.303 | FDA ban ordered, not yet in effect | January 15, 2027 |
| Yellow 5 | 21 CFR 74.705 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Yellow 6 | 21 CFR 74.706 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Blue 1 | 21 CFR 74.101 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Blue 2 | 21 CFR 74.102 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Green 3 | 21 CFR 74.203 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Citrus Red 2 | 21 CFR 74.302 | Still allowed; FDA proposed a ban | July 23, 2026 |
| Orange B | 21 CFR 74.250 (removed) | Banned nationwide by FDA | September 8, 2026 |
| BVO | 21 CFR 180.30 (removed) | Banned nationwide by FDA | August 2, 2024 |
| Potassium bromate | 21 CFR 172.730 and 137.155 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Propylparaben | 21 CFR 184.1670 | Allowed by FDA | |
| Titanium dioxide | 21 CFR 73.575 | Allowed by FDA | |
| BHA | 21 CFR 172.110 and 182.3169 | Allowed by FDA |
Orders: Red 3, BVO, Orange B
An order revoking a listing is the only way the FDA removes an approved color. The Red 3 order granted a petition from consumer groups under the Delaney Clause, which courts have read as a complete ban on color additives found to induce cancer in humans or animals; the petition rested on studies in male rats. The BVO rule followed rodent studies run by the FDA's National Center for Toxicological Research with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Orange B was revoked as abandoned, since no one had used it for years.
A proposal: Citrus Red 2
Published the same day as the Orange B order, the proposal to revoke Citrus Red 2 took comments until August 24, 2026. Until a final order appears, the dye remains allowed on the skins of oranges not used for processing.
Quick check: one dye, one state, today
Red 3 in Florida, November 5, 2026
FDA ban from January 15, 2027
| FDA | FDA ban ordered, not yet in effect |
| State law: none found at the official sources read | |
Legal status only, not health advice.
A request: the six remaining dyes
The April 2025 announcement set out several measures: a national standard and timeline for the transition to natural colors, steps to revoke Citrus Red 2 and Orange B, the approval of new natural colors, and a request that companies eliminate the six dyes "by the end of next year". It also mentioned research with the National Institutes of Health. The tracker page, updated through 2026, records pledges and refers to the end of 2027. None of this binds a company. In parallel, the FDA approved six new or expanded natural colors and later delayed two of them; the natural colors page lists them.
How state laws fit in
States have not waited for federal orders on the six dyes. Their rules, mostly for school food, apply from their own dates whatever the FDA does next. The state list gives them all.