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Diving overview:
- Food dye manufacturers have filed a lawsuit against West Virginia seeking to overturn a state law banning artificial colors in food and beverages.
- The International Association of Color Manufacturers argued in papers filed Oct. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia that the state is “arbitrarily” banning the dye without scientific evidence and that it violates the U.S. and state constitutions.
- West Virginia enacted legislation earlier this year to ban food and beverage companies from selling products containing seven synthetic dyes and the preservatives butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben starting in 2028.
Dive Insights:
The coloring manufacturer’s legal challenge represents the food industry’s first major effort to fight back as more states consider limiting artificial dyes in line with the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has asked the food industry to voluntarily stop using artificial dyes by the end of next year, avoiding an outright ban. The FDA has previously declared artificial dyes safe and can only revoke approval if there is scientific evidence that the chemicals may cause cancer in humans or animals.
In the absence of federal regulations, states have taken up the mantle to introduce more comprehensive bans or restrictions. West Virginia became the first state to enact a broad ban on synthetic dyes, and Texas passed a law requiring warning labels on foods containing artificial colors.
As of March, 20 states had filed about 40 bills to regulate artificial colors and other food additives, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
John H. Cox, general counsel for the International Color Manufacturers Association, said in a statement that West Virginia’s ban “is not supported by scientific evidence.”
“To protect ingredient manufacturers and food companies, we ask the U.S. District Court to immediately strike down West Virginia’s flawed ban,” Cox said. “This statute arbitrarily and irrationally targets color additives that no U.S. agency (state or federal) or any court has determined to be unsafe.”
While the food industry has privately emphasized the switch to natural dyes, many large companies, including WK Kellogg, Kraft Heinz and Campbell’s, have signaled their intention to follow suit, especially amid growing pressure from consumers.
Food has historically “not been an industry that goes to court,” Martin Hahn, a partner at law firm Hogan Lovells, said during a panel discussion at the IFT First conference in Chicago in July. But he added that the sector should consider growing litigation as more states enact bans.
“We need to stand up right now,” Han said. “If we don’t take action, it will encourage the next round of legislature to pass similar legislation.”
