In what could be seen as a pre-Inauguration Day victory for President-elect Donald Trump and his Make America Health Again (MAHA) agenda, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a ban on the use of Red Dye No. 3 in food products and ingested medications.

Red Dye No. 3, which is also known as erythrosine, has long been a common additive in a variety of food items, giving foods like candy, cakes, cupcakes, cookies, frozen desserts, frostings, and certain ingested drugs a bright cherry-red color.

RELATED:

Nutrition Revolution: Biden FDA Rushes In Possible Food Coloring Ban Before RFK Jr. Enters at HHS

The FDA, in making the announcement, cited studies liking the synthetic dye to cancer in laboratory animals. The decision comes more than three decades after the dye was prohibited from being used in cosmetics and topical drugs due to concerns it could affect the health of users.

Republicans welcomed the news of the ban, with some taking a victory lap on behalf of MAHA and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—Trump’s pick to head up Health and Human Services—who has said that he would make removing artificial dyes from the food supply a priority.

GOOD.

I called out FDA officials DEMANDING answers on Red Dye No. 3 last Congress, and I will keep working with @RobertKennedyJr and the MAHA Caucus to MAKE AMERICA HEALTHY AGAIN! https://t.co/T2S9KXa0Ep

— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) January 15, 2025

Kennedy has been ticking off Democrats and their media lapdogs ever since he called it quits on his own presidential campaign and allied with Donald Trump, giving birth to the MAHA movement. The goal of MAHA is to “dismantle the corporate stranglehold on our government agencies that has led to widespread chronic disease, environmental degradation, and rampant public distrust.”

RedState’s Ward Clark covered the blowback against Kennedy for being named as part of Team Trump 2.0, noting that the New York Times even tried to fact-check Kennedy over the ingredients in Froot Loops. Ward rightly concluded:

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will have his work cut out for him at Health & Human Services, yes. But boy, howdy, if this is representative of the kind of media attention he can expect to receive, it’s going to be an insane few years ahead of us. But in the end, maybe, just maybe, American diets will improve – as will American health. You are what you eat, and too many American have, for quite a few years, been eating crap.

Food manufacturers are required to remove Red Dye No. 3 from their products by January 2027, while producers of ingested medications have until January 2028 to comply with the new regulations. This transition period allows companies time to reformulate their products with alternative color additives.

This move by the FDA not only aligns with the objectives of MAHA, but also speaks to the growing influence of the movement and its leaders, Trump and Kennedy. It comes weeks before Kennedy makes his way to Capitol Hill for his Senate confirmation hearing; an exact date for that hearing has yet to be set, but you can be sure that RedState will have full coverage.