Whether it's the refreshing green of mint ice cream or the electric red of a sports drink, color influences our food choices, often subconsciously. For decades, artificial dyes have been the go-to for achieving these vibrant, enticing shades. But now, a potential policy change is bringing to the forefront both health implications and intricate supply chain and environmental considerations. 

This week, the FDA announced its intention to phase out artificial food colorings, citing harmful effects on consumers. The agency said it would “revoke authorization” for two colors and “[work] with the industry to eliminate” six more. Four new natural alternatives will be approved in the coming weeks. 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has long criticized artificial dyes as “part of a larger food system that contributes to chronic disease and poor health,” according to The New York Times. The article goes on to say that he has reached “an understanding” with major food manufacturers to remove commonly used petroleum-based food colorings from their products by 2026. 

Of course, switching from artificial to natural colors is far from simple — especially when more than 60% of the items on grocery shelves could be affected. The International Association of Color Manufacturers told Newsweek that there aren’t enough alternatives available to replace existing products and warned of “long-term supply chain challenges and the need to import costly substitutes.” Here are just a few of the hurdles: 

• Time and again, research proves that people prefer the taste of foods in certain colors; duller hues may seem less flavorful or be unappealing, thus influencing purchasing decisions. 

• Current additives affect taste and shelf stability, critical elements that will need to be recalibrated.  

• “Natural colorant production would need to scale up by approximately 500% to accommodate the U.S. market alone,” according to Unbiased Science.  

• Significant agricultural expansion will be needed to produce enough of the natural colorings, which comes from vegetables such as beetroot and turmeric. 

• More natural dye is needed to achieve a satisfying color than synthetic dye, so recipes may have to be reformulated, per The Times. “Your sugar or flour may be off,” explains James Herrmann, director of food colors at Sensient Technologies, a company that manufactures colors — both artificial and natural — for the food and beverage industry. 

• Produce often requires cold storage, as well as staff retraining, equipment recalibration and certain cleaning protocols.  

• Packaging may need to be replaced with light-blocking materials, as light can cause natural colors to fade, change or even separate.  

• And of course, there’s a natural seasonality to growing produce that won’t always match up with demand.  

Despite the many supply chain complications, the environmental case for removing food dyes has merit — something we should all be considering as another Earth Day passes without governments meaningfully addressing the climate crisis. For instance, an average of 10-15% of food dyes are discharged as liquid waste into rivers or oceans during production. This contaminates fresh drinking water and makes soil toxic with chemical waste, killing animals and crops. Natural alternatives to synthetic dyes can have significant environmental benefits, underscoring the need for a more thoughtful approach.   

A commitment to sustainability 

Even without government regulations, supply chain professionals know the importance of prioritizing the health and well-being of our planet during manufacturing, shipping and beyond. That’s why ASCM created our Enterprise Standards for Sustainability, the world’s first comprehensive evaluation for supply chain. This unique designation incorporates SCOR content and the bodies of knowledge from all ASCM certifications. 

We also have our Sustainability Maturity Assessment, a free tool to help you evaluate your supply chain’s performance across economic, environmental and ethical dimensions. Find an individual course near you using our course finder, or set up an in-house class for the whole team.  

Finally, take all of this a step further by boosting your sustainable sourcing expertise with ASCM’s Supply Chain Procurement Certificate, which teaches how to make the most of your data and key metrics to expertly manage suppliers and their performance. ASCM has a full spectrum of supply chain education — get started now!