The seven color additives named are butylated hydroxyanisole, propylparaben, FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Blue No. 2, FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, and FD&C Yellow No. 6.
H.B. 2354 also added a provision, Section 18-5D-3A, prohibiting these color additives “as an ingredient in any meal served in a school nutrition program,” with the exception of school fundraising events on or away from campus occurring “at least one half-hour after the end of the school day,” according to the order.
The IACM argued H.B. 2354 violates the Equal Protection Clause by singling out manufacturers and fails a rational basis review by not providing any factual findings stating why the color additives named in Section 16-7-2(b)(7) are unsafe, according to the same order. The IACM also said H.B. 2354 is “unconstitutionally vague” by not defining “poisonous and injurious,” and leaves the door open for “arbitrary enforcement.”
West Virginia ranks at the bottom of many public health metrics, which is why there’s no better place to lead the Make America Healthy Again mission. By eliminating harmful chemicals from our food, we’re taking steps toward improving the health of our residents and protecting our children from significant long-term health and learning challenges,” Morrissey said at the time.
In April 2025, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced a series of measures to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply. Kennedy said he wanted to eliminate FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1 and FD&C Blue No. 2 from the food supply by the end of 2026.
