Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced further details Tuesday on his plan to rid the American food supply of food dyes.

The Food and Drug Administration will take steps to eliminate synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, Commissioner Marty Makary said during the press conference.

Petroleum-based artificial colors will be phased out, which will lead to an ingredient overhaul among a litany of U.S. products.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. escalated his war against the food industry on Tuesday, declaring that “sugar is poison.”

Mr. Kennedy’s comment came during a highly publicized news conference where he also asserted that he has “an understanding” with major food manufacturers to remove petroleum-based food colorings from their products by 2026.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s health department announced plans to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply in a bid to ramp up pressure on an industry he has often derided.

The Department of Health and Human Services said it aims to work with the industry to eliminate six synthetic dyes — such as red dye No. 40 and yellow dye No. 5 — from the food supply by the end of 2026.

“One by one we’re going to get rid of every ingredient and additive in food that we can legally address,” Kennedy said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced Tuesday afternoon a nationwide phase out of eight popular food dyes in what could be a dramatic change to the U.S. food supply.

Kennedy and Makary directed food manufacturers to phase out by next year a group of eight food additives found in cereals, sweets, sports drinks, yogurt, and a plethora of other commonly consumed foods.

FDA Commissioner Dr Marty Makary announced the agency will phase out the use of eight artificial food dyes in America’s food supply within the next two years.

The massive shakeup will free children from the 'toxic soup' that makes up much of America's food supply, Dr Makary said. 

Dr Makary, a trained surgeon, began his remarks by calling attention to an oft-cited review in The Lancet, which reported ties between artificial food dyes and hyperactivity in children. 

Donald Trump's administration has announced a plan to phase out eight synthetic food dyes from the U.S. food supply by the end of 2026.

The Food and Drug Administration's decision to remove the petroleum-based artificial color additives follows mounting scientific evidence and advocacy from health organizations such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which has long warned of the risks associated with synthetic dyes.

The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its food safety and nutrition division, according to an internal email seen by Reuters.

The suspension is another disruption to the nation's food safety programs after the termination and departure of 20,000 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA, as part of President Donald Trump's effort to shrink the federal workforce.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently announced an effort to investigate the dramatic rise in autism in recent years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 36 children now has autism, an over 300 percent increase since 2000. Kennedy pledged to find the cause of the autism epidemic by September and then to take steps to eliminate it.

The Trump administration is eyeing about $40 billion in cuts to the Department of Health and Human Services’s budget next year, according to a memo obtained by The New York Times, as the White House charges ahead with plans for drastic changes to the agencies that regulate food and drugs, protect Americans from disease and research new treatments.

Republican governors in Arkansas and Indiana moved Tuesday to ban soft drinks and candy from the program that helps low-income people pay for groceries, becoming the first states to ask the Trump administration to let them remove such items from the program long known as food stamps.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said her state’s request is aimed at improving the health of nearly 350,000 residents who participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.