The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is relaxing rules that restrict when food companies can claim their products have no artificial colors.
The agency announced Thursday that food labels may claim to have “no artificial colors” when they are free of petroleum-based dyes, even when they contain dyes derived from natural sources such as plants. In the past, the FDA has allowed companies to make those claims only when products “had no added color whatsoever," the agency said in a statement.
The move is another step toward the Trump administration's aim to phase out synthetic dyes from the nation's food supply.
In a joint statement, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the move would encourage companies to switch to natural rather than synthetic colors if they can claim their products contain no artificial colors.
“We are taking away that hindrance and making it easier for companies to use these colors in the foods our families eat every day,” Makary said in a statement.
Kennedy and Makary have urged U.S. companies to voluntarily remove synthetic dyes from their products — and many food makers, such as PepsiCo and Nestle, have complied. In addition, some states have taken steps to ban artificial dyes from school meals.
The move drew praise from Consumer Brands, a trade group for packaged foods, which said “all natural ingredients should continue to follow a rigorous science and risk-based evaluation process.”
“This is a positive example of the FDA taking the lead on ingredient safety and transparency,” Sarah Gallo, the group's senior vice president, said in a statement.
But the label change could mislead consumers, said Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. It would allow a claim of “no artificial colors” for any color additive that is not a petroleum-based certified color, including potentially harmful additives such as titanium dioxide.
Also on Thursday, the FDA said it had approved a new natural dye, beetroot red, and expanded the use of spirulina extract, a color derived from algae that provides a blue hue in foods. The FDA currently allows roughly three dozen natural dyes in food products. The agency banned a controversial dye known as Red No. 3 last year and has proposed banning a rarely-used hue, Orange B.
The agency also recently said it would review the six remaining petroleum-based dyes frequently used in the U.S. food supply: Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1 and Blue No. 2.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing inconclusive studies that found they could cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues in some children. Other health experts have noted that bright synthetic colors are a key component of ultraprocessed foods marketed to children, increasing consumption of added sugar, fat and sodium that can lead to health problems.
Still, the FDA's website on Thursday continued to acknowledge limited evidence for harms from artificial colors. “The totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives, but some evidence suggests that certain children may be sensitive to them,” the site said.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
FILE - Applications Scientist Anuj Bag mixes coloring with flour at Sensient Technologies Corp., a color additive manufacturing company, April 2, 2025, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators believe the missing mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie is “still out there,” but they have not identified any suspects, a sheriff in Arizona said Thursday.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos also said DNA tests showed blood found on Nancy Guthrie ’s porch came back a match to her. Authorities think she was taken from her home in Tucson against her will over the weekend.
“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home,” Nanos said at a news conference five days after she was reported missing. The sheriff, however, acknowledged that authorities have no proof she is still alive.
A day earlier, Savannah Guthrie and her siblings released an emotional message to her 84-year-old mother’s kidnapper, but there has been no public sign of a response.
Savannah Guthrie said her family is ready to talk but wants proof their mom is still alive. In the heart-wrenching video posted on social media Wednesday, she acknowledged hearing media reports about a ransom letter.
“We are ready to talk. However, we live in a world where voices and images are easily manipulated,” Savannah Guthrie said while reading from a prepared statement. “We need to know without a doubt that she is alive and that you have her. We want to hear from you and we are ready to listen. Please reach out to us.”
She was last seen Saturday night when she was dropped off at her Tucson home by family after having dinner with them, the sheriff’s department said. She was reported missing about 14 hours later on Sunday after she didn’t show up at a church.
Guthrie has limited mobility, and officials don’t believe she left on her own. A sheriff’s dispatcher said during the search Sunday that Guthrie has high blood pressure, a pacemaker and heart issues, according to audio from broadcastify.com.
The neighborhood’s desert terrain can make looking for people difficult, said Jim Mason, longtime commander of a search-and-rescue team in Maricopa County that isn’t involved in the search. He said it can be hard to see into areas dense with mesquite trees, cholla cactus and desert brush.
“Some of it is so thick you can’t drive through it,” Mason said.
At least three media organizations have reported receiving purported ransom notes that they handed over to investigators. The sheriff’s department has said it was taking the notes and other tips seriously but declined to comment further.
A note emailed Monday to the KOLD-TV newsroom in Tucson included information that only the abductor would know, anchor Mary Coleman told CNN. It also included a dollar amount and a deadline, she said.
“When we saw some of those details, it was clear after a couple of sentences that this might not be a hoax,” she said in an interview aired Wednesday.
The family posted their plea after police searched in and around Nancy Guthrie’s home for several hours Wednesday.
Investigators returned for the follow-up investigation after being at the home earlier in the week for a couple of days, said Kevin Adger, a spokesperson for the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. He said the sheriff’s department was not commenting on the family's video message.
Savannah Guthrie was emotional during the recording, with her voice cracking. She addressed her mother directly, saying the family was praying for her and that people were looking for her.
“Mommy, if you are hearing this, you are a strong woman. You are God’s precious daughter,” she said.
Savannah Guthrie described her mother as a “kind, faithful, loyal, fiercely loving woman of goodness and light” and said she was funny, spunky and clever.
“Talk to her and you’ll see,” she said.
Guthrie was flanked by her sister Annie and her brother Camron.
“Mamma, If you’re listening, we need you to come home. We miss you,” Annie Guthrie said.
President Donald Trump posted on social media that he was directing federal authorities to help where they can, after the White House said he spoke with Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday.
A couple hundred people prayed and placed lit candles on an altar during a vigil at a Tucson church.
Jeremy Thacker had tears in his eyes as he described the heartbreak and helplessness. He worked with Savannah Guthrie at an Arizona news station. They shared losing their fathers at a young age, and his own sister was kidnapped when he was young.
Thacker said he knew Nancy Guthrie to be sharp, grounded and earnest.
“We’re all holding our breath,” Thacker said.
Billeaud reported from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu, Hallie Golden in Seattle, Michael Hill in Albany, New York, Darlene Superville in Washington and Julie Walker in New York contributed.
Law enforcement officers are present outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" host Savannah Guthrie, near Tucson, Ariz., Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)
FILE - Savannah Guthrie arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
This image provided by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, shows a missing person alert for Nancy Guthrie. (Pima County Sheriff’s Department via AP)
