On May 9, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved three new color additive petitions for naturally-sourced colors to use in food. As required by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Chapter VII, section 721), the FDA must approve all color additives to ensure that these substances are safe before being used in food. These approvals are part of the process to remove synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply to align with the current administration’s Make America Healthy Again initiative.
The three approved color additives are:
- Galdieria extract blue
This blue color is prepared from the water extraction from a dried red algae, Galdieria sulphuraria.
2. Butterfly pea flower extract
This is a blue color that is used to generate a range of colors including blues, purple and greens and is produced via the water extraction of the dried flower petals of the butterfly pea plant (Clitoria ternatea). This additive is already approved for use in some foods but the current approval expands its use to more food categories.
3. Calcium phosphate
This is a white color prepared from precipitated calcium hydroxide phosphate. Calcium phosphate is currently Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) for use as a nutrient or a multiple purpose ingredient in food.
For all three color additives, an additional condition of approval is that their use concentrations in food does not exceed levels consistent with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).
As a result of the FDA activities, food manufacturers have begun to reformulate their products to remove the synthetic dyes from US-based products. The FDA approval of natural colors is designed to aid the food industry in these efforts by offering approved replacement substances.
Published May 22, 2025
This article was generated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence.