10 Food Additives Already Banned or Being Phased Out Under RFK Jr.’s HHS
1 day ago
Greg
Greg Wilson, CFA
user • @gregwilso_daefd •
This article was originally published on ChaChingQueen.com, a site my wife and I own. AI was used for light editing, formatting, and readability. But a human (me!) wrote and edited this.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services has put food additives back at the center of the national health debate. Many of these foods are not being banned as categories. What is changing is the ingredient list, and in many cases, the most likely outcome is reformulation.
In April 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration announced measures to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply, and the Food and Drug Administration has since tracked company pledges to remove those colors over time.
In this article, we look at 10 food additives that are already banned or being phased out under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s HHS. We also look at the kinds of foods they have appeared in and what those changes could mean for the products people actually buy.
BVO: Citrus Sodas and Fruit-Flavored Drinks
Brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, is one of the clearest examples of an additive that is already out. The Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule on July 3, 2024, revoking the regulation that allowed BVO in food, with the rule taking effect on August 2, 2024 and a one-year compliance period to give companies time to reformulate and relabel products.
BVO’s authorized use was narrow but common enough to matter: it was used to stabilize flavoring oils in fruit-flavored beverages. That means the foods most affected were citrus sodas and similar fruit-flavored drinks
