Health
RFK Jr. Rattles Food Companies With Vow to Rid Food of Artificial Dyes
In his first meeting with top executives from PepsiCo, W.K. Kellogg, General Mills and other large companies, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, bluntly told them that a top priority would be eliminating artificial dyes from the nation’s food supply.
At the Monday meeting, Mr. Kennedy emphasized that it was a “strong desire and urgent priority” of the new Trump administration to rid the food system of artificial colorings.
In addition, he warned the companies that they should anticipate significant change as a result of his quest for “getting the worst ingredients out” of food, according to a letter from the Consumer Brands Association, a trade group. The Times reviewed a copy that was sent to the group’s members after the meeting.
And while Mr. Kennedy said in the meeting that he wanted to work with the industry, he also “made clear his intention to take action unless the industry is willing to be proactive with solutions,” the association wrote.
“But to underscore, decision time is imminent,” Melissa Hockstad, who attended the meeting and is the group’s president, wrote in the letter.
Later on Monday, Mr. Kennedy issued a directive that would also affect food companies nationwide. He ordered the Food and Drug Administration to revise a longstanding policy that allowed companies — independent of any regulatory review — to decide that a new ingredient in the food supply was safe. Put in place decades ago, the policy was aimed at ingredients like vinegar or salt that are widely considered to be well-understood, and benign. But the designation, known as GRAS, or “generally recognized as safe,” has since grown to include a far broader array of natural and synthetic additives.
Mr. Kennedy had vowed to upend the food system as a way to address growing rates of chronic disease and other health concerns even before his appointment as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. He now oversees the F.D.A., the federal regulator for about 80 percent of the nation’s food supply.
Many food companies rely on artificial dyes to make breakfast cereals and candies dazzling shades of pink and blue, for instance, or beverages neon orange. Some have already tried to adapt natural ingredients, like carrot or blueberry juice, for coloring, particularly for products sold in international markets, like Canada. But the companies have said that consumer demand had weakened in the United States because of dissatisfaction with less appealing or vivid colors in snacks and drinks.
Steven Williams, the chief executive of PepsiCo’s North America division, attended the meeting with Mr. Kennedy, but the company said he would not comment. In an email, a PepsiCo spokesperson said that the company viewed the meeting as a “productive first step” and added that it was focused on providing consumers “more options with natural ingredients, no synthetic colors and reductions in sugar, fat and sodium.”
Stacy Flathau, the chief corporate affairs officer for W.K. Kellogg, said in an emailed statement that the company looked forward to working with the new administration.
While the industry memo expressed alarm about the plan to remove synthetic colors, it did not address Mr. Kennedy’s additional proposal targeting some food ingredients deemed safe.
Advocates for food safety have criticized the existing GRAS policy as a loophole that enables food companies to introduce untested ingredients that in some cases have proven hazardous. About 1,000 ingredients deemed safe have been reviewed by the F.D.A., but Mr. Kennedy targeted the ones that companies deem acceptable with no government oversight.
“Eliminating this loophole will provide transparency to consumers, help get our nation’s food supply back on track by ensuring that ingredients being introduced into foods are safe, and ultimately Make America Healthy Again,” Mr. Kennedy said in a statement.
Bills to remove synthetic colors from the food supply have taken off since California banned Red Dye No. 3, a move that the F.D.A. followed. Other state proposals have targeted titanium dioxide, a compound used to make food appear shiny. Texas and West Virginia have moved to strip colorants from some school lunches.
In Ms. Hockstad’s letter to food company executives, she said Mr. Kennedy wanted synthetic color additives known as FD&C colors, or Food, Drug & Cosmetic dyes, removed during his administration.
Vani Hari, an activist known online as the Food Babe who did not attend the meeting, applauded Mr. Kennedy’s willingness to take on the food industry. “Bobby gave the food industry an ultimatum,” she said. “Either work with us to make these changes happen or we’ll do it ourselves.”
Mr. Kennedy was expected to meet with members of the Make America Healthy Again commission on Tuesday.
Stuart Pape, a lawyer who represents food companies, said Mr. Kennedy’s plan was “ambitious.” He said the F.D.A. traditionally had proposed removal of one coloring at a time, presenting research on why the ingredient was unsafe. Whether there is an adequate supply of alternative colorings would be a concern of a broader plan.
“I think Kennedy has made no secret that he intends to go after the food ingredients,” Mr. Pape said. “And I think this is the opening of that war.”
Dr. Peter Lurie, a former F.D.A. official and director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, said the effort might not have a significant effect on major chronic diseases including diabetes and heart disease.
The data on cancer related to food dyes was mostly focused on Red No. 3, he said. In the waning days of the Biden administration, the F.D.A. issued a ban on Red No. 3 that would take effect in the coming years. Red dye No. 3 has been linked to some cancers in animals, but not in humans.
Still, he said that Mr. Kennedy’s move might be effective because the dyes do little other than to make unhealthy food appear more appealing. Despite spending years fighting efforts to limit food dyes, he said, food executives may join other business leaders who have been eager to kowtow to the current administration.
“Given their fear of angering the administration,” Dr. Lurie said, “they may just see it in their interest to go along with this.”
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A popular class of weight-loss drugs may prevent life-threatening cardiac complications by opening microscopic blood vessels that often remain blocked after a heart attack, according to a study published this week in Nature Communications.
The research, led by the University of Bristol and University College London, identified a biological brain-gut-heart signaling pathway.
This discovery appears to explain how GLP-1 drugs — which mimic glucagon-like peptide-1, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar and appetite — protect heart tissue from a condition known as “no-reflow.”
“In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny blood vessels within the heart muscle remain narrowed, even after the main artery is cleared during emergency medical treatment,” Dr. Svetlana Mastitskaya, the study’s lead author and a senior lecturer at Bristol Medical School, said in a press release.
“This results in a complication known as ‘no-reflow,’ where blood is unable to reach certain parts of the heart tissue.”
In nearly half of all heart attack patients, tiny capillaries (blood vessels) remain narrowed even after the main blocked artery is cleared. (iStock)
This lack of blood flow increases the risk of heart failure and death within a year. GLP-1 medications could prevent this, according to the researchers.
How it works
When the GLP-1 hormone is released in the gut or administered as a drug, it sends a signal to the brain, which then sends a signal to the heart that switches on special potassium channels in tiny cells called pericytes.
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When these channels open, the pericytes relax, which allows the small blood vessels (capillaries) to widen and improve blood flow to the heart muscle, the researchers noted.
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The new study used animal models and cellular imaging to track how GLP-1 interacts with heart tissue. When the researchers removed the potassium channels, the drugs no longer protected the heart — confirming they play a key role.
The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments. (iStock)
The findings suggest that existing GLP-1 medications, already used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, could be repurposed as emergency treatments during or immediately after a heart attack to reduce tissue damage.
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The researchers noted several limitations, including that the study relied on animal models.
Clinical trials are necessary to determine whether the brain-gut-heart pathway operates with the same timing and efficacy in humans.
While the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it des not establish whether long-term use of these drugs provides a pre-existing level of protection. (iStock)
Additionally, while the study highlights the drug’s immediate benefits during a heart attack, it does not establish whether long-term use of the medication provides a pre-existing level of protection.
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The research was primarily funded by the British Heart Foundation.
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Collagen supplements have exploded in popularity, touted as everything from an anti-aging miracle to a muscle recovery booster.
But a sweeping new review conducted by U.K. researchers suggests that while collagen may help improve skin elasticity and ease arthritis pain, it does little for athletic performance or wrinkle reduction.
Researchers from Anglia Ruskin University analyzed 16 systematic reviews and 113 randomized controlled trials involving nearly 8,000 participants worldwide, which they say is the most extensive evaluation of collagen’s health effects to date.
The review found consistent evidence that collagen supplementation improves skin elasticity and hydration over time and provides significant relief from osteoarthritis-related joint pain and stiffness, according to findings published in Aesthetic Surgery Journal Open Forum.
A large U.K. review found that collagen supplements may improve skin elasticity and hydration over time. (iStock)
The researchers, however, did not find meaningful improvements in post-exercise muscle recovery, soreness or tendon mechanical properties (strength, springiness and stretch resistance).
“Collagen is not a cure-all, but it does have credible benefits when used consistently over time, particularly for skin and osteoarthritis,” co-author Lee Smith, professor of public health at Anglia Ruskin University, said in a statement.
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“Our findings show clear benefits in key areas of healthy aging, while also dispelling some of the myths surrounding its use,” Smith added.
Collagen, the most abundant protein in the body, supports skin, bones, tendons, cartilage and connective tissue, according to experts. Natural collagen production begins to drop in early adulthood and declines more sharply with age.
The study found that collagen supplements may help reduce joint pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis. (iStock)
The review found that long-term collagen supplementation was linked to improved skin firmness and hydration, but did not help skin roughness — a proxy for visible wrinkles.
Benefits appear to accumulate gradually, suggesting that collagen should not be viewed as an “anti-wrinkle ‘quick fix,’ but as a foundational dermal support for individuals seeking holistic skin maintenance,” the researchers said.
“If we define anti-aging as a product or technique designed to prevent the appearance of getting older, then I believe our findings do support this claim for some parameters,” Smith told the BBC. “For example, an improvement in skin tone and moisture is associated with a more youthful-looking appearance.”
Collagen supplementation was linked to reduced pain and stiffness in people with osteoarthritis, with stronger benefits seen over longer periods of use, and showed modest improvements in muscle mass and tendon structure that may support healthy aging.
Collagen did not significantly improve skin roughness, a marker of visible wrinkles. (iStock)
However, it did not show meaningful results when used as a fast-acting sports performance supplement, and evidence for benefits related to cholesterol, blood sugar, blood pressure and oral health was mixed or inconclusive.
Dr. Daniel Ghiyam, a California-based physician and longevity specialist, said the findings align with what he sees in clinical practice.
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“Collagen is a targeted support tool, not a foundation of health or performance,” Ghiyam, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “When marketed that way, it makes sense. When marketed as a cure-all, it doesn’t hold up to the data.”
The authors noted that while many previous collagen studies have received financial support from the supplement industry, the current review did not receive industry funding.
Experts say collagen supplements may offer modest benefits for skin hydration and joint comfort, but they are not a cure-all. (iStock)
The team called for more high-quality clinical trials examining long-term outcomes, optimal dosages and differences between collagen sources, such as marine, bovine and plant-based alternatives.
Among its limitations, the review could not determine whether certain forms of collagen work better than others or what the optimal regimen should be.
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While the review included randomized controlled trials, the quality of the studies varied, with newer research generally showing stronger results.
Experts say more data and studies are needed to build on the findings. They also noted that diet plays a crucial role in skin health.
Collagen supplements, often sold as powders or pills, may improve skin elasticity and ease joint pain, experts say. (iStock)
Dr. Erum Ilyas, a Pennsylvania-based dermatologist and chair of dermatology at Drexel University College of Medicine, noted that the review analyzed previously published meta-analyses rather than generating new primary data.
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“At this time, I have not seen sufficiently strong independent evidence to routinely recommend collagen supplements to my patients,” Ilyas, who was not involved in the review, told Fox News Digital.
“Although some studies show modest improvements in markers such as hydration and elasticity, there remains limited independent, biopsy-confirmed evidence demonstrating sustained increases in dermal collagen content,” she added.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the researchers for comment.
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