Ice cream manufacturers to eliminate synthetic colorings

The nation's leading ice cream makers announced Monday that they will phase out the use of artificial colorings under pressure from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who seeks to remove unnecessary additives from the U.S. diet.

The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), of which more than 40 ice cream brands are members, said it will stop using petroleum-derived synthetic colorants by the end of 2027.

Some studies link these additives to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cancer, diabetes, gastrointestinal problems and genomic alterations, health experts argue.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his battle with food coloring

"I'm particularly happy to be here today because this is relevant to my favorite food, which is ice cream," Kennedy told reporters at a press conference.

"This is a great day for dairy and a great day to make America healthy again," added IDFA president Michael Dykes, referring to Kennedy's slogan, which in turn alludes to Trump's slogan: "Make America great again."

Andy Jacobs, CEO of Turkey Hill, said many commercial ice cream manufacturers have already eliminated artificial colorings or are in the process of doing so.

Americans consume approximately 8.6 kilograms of ice cream per year per person, according to industry data.

In April, Kennedy announced plans to revoke the authorization of two synthetic colorants and said he would work "with the industry" to eliminate six more.

Kennedy Jr. has been a self-proclaimed health food advocate and pledges to eliminate artificial dyes from the entire food industry, primarily on a voluntary basis.

According to him, with the commitment of ice cream producers, the proportion of the agri-food sector that has pledged to no longer use synthetic dyes ranges from 35% to 40%. This is in addition to the 35% related to organic companies or those using exclusively natural products, Kennedy Jr. said at the press conference.