Government Banning Dye That Gives "Flamin' Hot" Cheetos Their Distinctive Color

Image by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP / Dennis McColeman / Getty Images From Flamin' Hot Cheetos and Fruit Loops to Gatorade and Mountain Dew's Baja Blast flavor, bizarrely-hued junk food favorites will soon lose their color thanks to a new artificial food dye ban. As NPR reports, Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary Robert F. Kennedy announced earlier this week that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is under his purview, will be phasing out the use of six popular food colorants that contain petroleum over concerns that they may cause or exacerbate health issues. "We are going to get rid of the dyes," Kennedy said during a press conference announcing the ban, and "we're going to get rid of every ingredient and additive in food that we can legally address." In that same press briefing, FDA commissioner Marty Makary claimed that the artificial dyes are harmful to children and constitute a "toxic soup of synthetic chemicals" — but industry experts insist that there's not mu ... Read full article.