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Food dye ban timeline, 2024 to 2028

One list of every date set by the FDA and by enacted state laws. Filter it by state or by dye; past dates are greyed, and the next one is shown at the top.

Food dye rules, date by date

Next date for this selection

January 1, 2027

California: AB 418 (2023): California Food Safety Act

  1. August 2, 2024, FDA: BVO authorization revoked (FDA)
  2. August 1, 2025, West Virginia: HB 2354 (2025): School nutrition programs (school food, in effect)
  3. August 2, 2025, FDA: BVO: FDA compliance date (FDA)
  4. the 2026-2027 school year, Arizona: HB 2164 (2025): Arizona Healthy Schools Act (school food, in effect)
  5. July 1, 2026, Delaware: SB 69 (153rd General Assembly): Red dye 40 in school food (school food, in effect)
  6. the 2026-2027 school year (food contracts entered into or renewed on or after September 1, 2026), Texas: SB 314 (89th Legislature, 2025): Free and reduced-price school meals (school food, in effect)
  7. the 2026-2027 school year, Utah: HB 402 (2025): Food Additives in Schools (school food, in effect)
  8. July 23, 2026, FDA: Citrus Red 2: revocation proposed (FDA)
  9. September 8, 2026, FDA: Orange B authorization revoked (FDA)
  10. January 1, 2027, California: AB 418 (2023): California Food Safety Act (all food sold, enacted, not yet in effect)
  11. labels developed or copyrighted on or after January 1, 2027, Texas: SB 25 (89th Legislature, 2025): Warning label on 44 ingredients (package label, enacted, a court order bars enforcement against some companies; Court order of February 11, 2026)
  12. January 15, 2027, FDA: Red 3 no longer allowed in food and dietary supplements (FDA)
  13. school years beginning on or after July 1, 2027, Iowa: HF 2676 (91st General Assembly): Iowa Make America Healthy Again Act, school meals (school food, enacted, not yet in effect)
  14. July 1, 2027, Virginia: HB 1910 and SB 1289 (2025): Color additives in school food (school food, enacted, not yet in effect)
  15. December 31, 2027, California: AB 2316 (2024): California School Food Safety Act (school food, enacted, not yet in effect)
  16. January 1, 2028, Alaska: SB 187 (34th Legislature): Food dyes in school meals (school food, enacted, not yet in effect)
  17. January 1, 2028, West Virginia: HB 2354 (2025): Adulteration rule, all food sold (all food sold, enacted, enforcement blocked by a court; Court order of December 23, 2025)
  18. January 18, 2028, FDA: Red 3 no longer allowed in ingested drugs (FDA)
  19. the 2028-2029 school year, Louisiana: SB 14 (2025): Prohibited ingredients in school meals (school food, enacted, not yet in effect)
  20. December 31, 2028, Louisiana: SB 14 (2025): QR code disclosure on the package (package label, enacted, not yet in effect)

Dates read at the official texts; school rules that start with a school year are placed on July 1 of that year for ordering only.

The rules on food dyes in the United States are arriving in stages rather than all at once. The first federal step was the revocation of brominated vegetable oil, effective August 2, 2024, with compliance due a year later. The best-known is the FDA order on Red 3, which removes it from food on January 15, 2027 and from ingested drugs on January 18, 2028. Between those dates, state laws take effect one after another: school rules in West Virginia from August 2025, in Utah, Arizona, Texas and Delaware from the 2026-2027 school year, in Virginia and Iowa from July 2027, in California at the end of 2027, in Alaska in January 2028 and in Louisiana with the 2028-2029 school year; California's ban on four substances in all food from January 1, 2027; and label rules in Texas for labels from 2027 and Louisiana from the end of 2028. The timeline above lists all 14 enacted state rules with their status on November 5, 2026.

How long until a state rule starts?

West Virginia, HB 2354 (2025) (school food)

Already in effect

StartsAugust 1, 2025
Covers7 dyes or additives
Status todayIn effect
See every date on the timeline →

Laws and FDA orders read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources

Year by year

2024 and 2025. The FDA revoked BVO and, in January 2025, ordered Red 3 out of food and ingested drugs. In April 2025 it asked manufacturers to stop using the remaining petroleum-based dyes, a request without a legal deadline. West Virginia's school rule began on August 1, 2025.

2026. 4 state rules start this year, mostly school rules keyed to the 2026-2027 school year. The FDA lifted the stay on the Red 3 order on August 5, 2026, revoked Orange B from September 8, 2026, and proposed revoking Citrus Red 2. In February 2026, a federal court limited enforcement of the Texas label law, and the West Virginia sale ban had been enjoined in December 2025.

2027. 5 state rules start, including California's ban on four substances in all food on January 1, two weeks before the federal Red 3 date of January 15. Virginia and Iowa schools follow from July, California schools from December 31.

2028. 4 state rules start: Alaska's school rule on January 1, the enjoined West Virginia sale ban on the same day, Louisiana's school rule with the 2028-2029 school year and its QR code disclosure on December 31. The FDA's Red 3 date for ingested drugs is January 18.

What the statuses mean

"In effect" means the start date has passed and no court order stands in the way. "Enacted, not yet in effect" means the law exists but its date is ahead. "Blocked" means a court has barred enforcement while a case proceeds, as for West Virginia's sale ban; "limited" means the court barred enforcement against some companies only, as for the Texas warning. Federal entries carry no status tag: an FDA order applies everywhere from its date.

How long until a state rule starts?

West Virginia, HB 2354 (2025) (school food)

Already in effect

StartsAugust 1, 2025
Covers7 dyes or additives
Status todayIn effect
See every date on the timeline →

Dates that may still move

Court orders can be lifted or extended on appeal, and legislatures amend dates: Louisiana pushed its label rule back to December 31, 2028 by a 2026 law. The FDA's Citrus Red 2 proposal has no final date yet. Each entry is dated as read at the official text on November 1, 2026; the method page explains how we check them.

Questions people ask

What is the next food dye date?

The tool at the top shows it for any selection. Without a filter, it is the next date after today among all federal and state rules; with a state selected, the next date that applies there, federal ones included. Past dates stay in the list, in grey, so you can see what is already in force.

Why are some school laws placed on July 1?

Laws that start "with the 2026-2027 school year" give no calendar date. For ordering only, the timeline places them on July 1 of the first year, the usual start of a school fiscal year, and prints the law's own words next to them.

Does the timeline include bills that are not law yet?

No. Only enacted laws and published FDA decisions are dated. Bills that passed a legislature but were not signed, such as New York's S1239, and states whose status we could not confirm at the official source appear on the state list page with their status, not on the timeline.

Check next

States banning food dyes

Every state with an enacted dye or additive law, what it covers, from when, and the bills still pending or not confirmed.

FDA phase-out

What the FDA has ordered (Red 3, BVO, Orange B), proposed (Citrus Red 2) and only requested (six dyes by the end of 2027).

Red 3

Erythrosine (E127): FDA order for food from January 15, 2027, ingested drugs from January 18, 2028; California and others too.

School meal dye bans

Ten states limit dyes in school food. Who is covered, which foods, which substances, and from which school year.

Dye laws by state

Pick a state and a dye or additive: the FDA rule, every state law that names it, and the date each one starts.

Laws and official pages behind this page

Written by

Independent publisher of a state-by-state tracker of food dye and additive laws in the United States, with an ingredient-list checker built on USDA FoodData Central

Laws and FDA orders checked on · Editorial policy · Contact

Food dye and additive rules 2026, read in each state law and in the Federal Register, last checked on