9 hours Ago By [email protected] (Brian Udall)
A major tenet of Donald Trump's 2024 campaign was the Make America Healthy Again movement led first and foremost by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who would go on to become the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
A major priority for Kennedy was to clean up the country's food supply. That effort was moved forward last month when , including . The government organization has wasted no time in providing a solution for the newfound gap in the world of food dyes by approving three new food colors which it has deemed to be safer alternatives.
Those three new food dyes include: Galdieria extract blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate. "Today we take a major step to Make America Healthy Again," Kennedy said in . "For too long, our food system has relied on synthetic, petroleum-based dyes that offer no nutritional value and pose unnecessary health risks.
We're removing these dyes and approving safe, natural alternatives — to protect families and support healthier choices." The press release signaled that more natural alternatives could be expected in the future, indicating that the nationwide effort to restore the quality of our food continues to be a top priority for this administration. What exactly are these new food dyes made of? The country's food supply has gotten so out of hand, it's basically common knowledge that it's a good policy to only buy products with ingredients whose names you can pronounce.
If this list of new food dyes has you scratching your head, don't worry. These new food dyes are a lot less scary than the ones that were made from petroleum. Galdieria extract blue is made from a red algae called Galdieria sulphuraria, which naturally contains the blue pigment C-Phycocyanin.
If the technical jargon is throwing you off, all you really need to know is that it comes from algae, an underappreciated superfood that's been getting attention lately through companies like . Butterfly pea flower is a popular ingredient in high-quality tea, thanks to its pleasant floral taste and its stunning blue color. If you squeeze a bit of lemon juice into it, the tea will actually turn purple, a feature that absolutely floored my ex-girlfriend when she discovered it.
The butterfly pea flower extract approved by the FDA will likely be found in products like fruit juice, yogurt, and ice cream. Calcium phosphate was the one that gave me the most pause, but it's actually a nutritional supplement you can take. Naturally found in rocks, calcium phosphate will be a white food dye which you may find in ready-to-eat chicken products as well as sugar products.
Calcium phosphate doughnuts sound a bit odd, but if they're strengthening my bones instead of killing me slowly, count me in. Recommended.
