The FDA has approved three new additive colors for food use: blue galdieria extract (from algae), calcium phosphate (from a natural mineral), and butterfly pea flower extract (from dried flower petals).
The approvals follow requests submitted by Fermentalg (France) in 2021, Innophos Inc (USA) in 2023 and Sensient Colors LLC (USA) in 2024. Although its use is currently limited to food use, in the future, these applications could also occur in the cosmetic sector and in personal care products.
The measure comes at a time when US health authorities are beginning to eliminate synthetic dyes derived from petroleum for safety reasons. Although synthetic dyes remain legal in cosmetics, this change may indicate an evolution of regulatory attitudes and open the door to a wider adoption of natural dyes by the industry.