Senate confirms RFK Jr. as Health and Human Services secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as HHS secretary in a 52-48 Senate vote, with GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell voting no.
President Donald Trump, who famously has a sweet tooth, once received a handpicked selection of his favorite red and pink Starburst candy from former House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
However, if his Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a say, the days of his artificially-dyed technicolor candy would be numbered.
But Trump needn’t fret. Yet.
Mars Wrigley, the manufacturer of M&Ms, Starburst and Skittles, has resisted Kennedy’s artificial food dye-eschewing Make America Healthy Again agenda. But the company told USA TODAY it’s “exploring” alternatives.
To the chagrin of food advocates and Kennedy’s HHS, though, it’s not making any promises with timelines, as other big food companies have in recent months.
A Mars Wrigley spokesperson told USA TODAY that the conglomerate had not yet identified “fully effective solutions” and believes it is “premature to make commitments” until it is certain they can be fulfilled. The spokesperson said the company would continue its efforts and anticipates being able to offer consumers more artificial dye-free choice in the “near future.” An internal study conducted by the company five years ago also found that consumers across the globe – except Europe – did not mind artificial dyes in their candy.
Kennedy’s boss maybe one of them.
During a Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day event organized by the White House in May, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told children of reporters that Trump eats a “good amount” of candy and said he likes pink Starburst and Tootsie Rolls.
And the president also has used candy as a tool of diplomacy. He reportedly tossed two Starburst candies at former German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the G7 summit in 2018, saying, “Don’t say I never give you anything.”
Banning artificial dyes from the nation’s food supply
Kennedy, who has long blamed America’s chronic health problems, including obesity and heart disease, on the food industry, announced in April that eight artificial dyes will be phased out from medications and the nation’s food supply by the end of 2026, including those found in candy, ice cream, soft drinks and jams.
A study by the California’s Environmental Protection Agency in 2021 linked consumption of synthetic food dyes to hyperactivity and other neurobehavioral problems in some children. Similar studies also led the European Union to restrict food coloring. Last year, California banned six dyes from use in public schools. This year, West Virginia followed suit, with others like Virginia and Utah banning them in public school lunches.
While no formal agreement or legislation has been passed officially banning the food dyes, HHS and FDA have a “mutual understanding” with the food industry that they will be removed, Kennedy said.
At the time, a statement from the watchdog group Center for Science in the Public Interest called the agreement’s voluntary nature “disappointing.”
Kennedy has generally received support across party lines when it comes to blaming the food industry for the nation’s chronic health problems, including obesity and heart disease, according to the results of a June NBC News Decision Desk Poll. At the same time, critics have hammered him over his controversial views and policy moves regarding vaccines.
Since Kennedy’s appointment, several food companies such as Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Nestle, Tyson Foods and Mars rival Hershey’s have committed to removing all artificial food dyes from their food within the next couple of years.
An uphill battle: Getting ultra-processed food off the menu
Getting ultra-processed food off menus is an uphill battle.
Earlier this month, Kennedy praised an Oklahoma-based company that delivers $7-a-pop meals to Medicaid and Medicare enrollees for offering meals without “additives.”
But an Associated Press review of Mom’s Meals menu, including the ingredients and nutrition labels, showed that the company’s offerings are “the type of heat-and-eat, ultraprocessed foods that Kennedy routinely criticizes for making people sick,” the newswire reported.
And it’s not just a battle with companies that Kennedy has to wage, it’s also consumer behavior. Just ask his boss.
Trump’s love for Big Macs is well-known. A book by two former aides described Trump’s go-to McDonald’s dinner order of consisting of two Big Macs, two Filet-O-Fish, and a chocolate malted milkshake.
Even Kennedy was pictured holding what looked like a Big Mac while seated at a table with Trump and his inner circle on his private plane last November, right after Trump’s re-election in November. It drew a great deal of public attention given Kennedy’s constant screed against ultra-processed food.
Mars takes a second look at artificial food dyes in its candies
Christopher Gindlesperger, senior vice president for public affairs and communications for the National Confectioners Association, a trade group for the U.S. confectionary industry, told USA TODAY that some of the challenges for the industry include a long reformulation process and significant costs associated with sourcing natural colors.
“The companies that make natural colors simply don’t make enough to meet demand,” said Gindlesperger.
Back in 2016, Mars voluntarily announced that it would remove all artificial colors from its “human food portfolio globally.”
But after an internal team dove into developing “new ingredients, secure regulatory approvals, address manufacturing readiness and figure out the needs and expectations of our consumers,” it shifted gears in 2020.
The company found that consumer expectations about colors in food differed widely across markets and categories. For dinnertime meals, they preferred natural ingredients but when it came to candy, it was not a concern.
“For that reason, we will continue to prioritize our efforts to remove artificial colors in Europe – where consumers have expressed this preference – but will not be removing all artificial colors from our Mars Snacking portfolio in other markets,” it said in a statement, which is currently on its website. The statement dates back to 2020, the company confirmed.
Kennedy and many food advocates have repeatedly bemoaned the disproportionally large list of additives in the U.S. compared to Europe.
An estimated 10,000 food additives are approved for use in the U.S., as opposed to 411 in the European Union, according to the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for HHS, said it is “disappointing that this company will prioritize removing artificial dyes in Europe but will not do the same in America.”
Vani Hari, a food advocate who has aligned herself with Kennedy’s MAHA agenda, said she was not sure what the company’s business strategy was, given that states such as West Virginia have begun banning them. Texas is implementing new warning label requirements for foods and beverages containing certain artificial dyes and additives.
“I find it hard to see Mars being the only major candy company that will be left on the shelf with artificial dyes after Hershey declared the removal of them,” she said. “What’s their long-term plan? Stop selling in West Virginia and other states banning dyes? Put warning labels on their products just in Texas?”
Kennedy and his associates have said states, rather than lengthy federal regulations, may hold the key to forcing companies to change their ways.
As for consumer sentiment on artificial dyes, Mars’ five-year old data may no longer reflect the reality, Hari said.
The self-described MAHA Mom said Kennedy’s “leadership” on the issue educating all Americans has changed things.
“More moms than ever are becoming aware of the dangers of artificial dyes,” she said.
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. You can follow her on X @SwapnaVenugopal