INFORM February 2026

REGULATORY REVIEW INFORM 37 REGULATORY REVIEW | INFORM |

International Association of Color Manufacturers filed a lawsuit aimed at striking down the state’s new ban on the food dyes. The US Food and Drug Administration wants to phase out all petroleum based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply by the end of 2026. That list would include Citrus Red No. 2, Orange B, Green No. 3, Red No. 3 and No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and No. 6, and Blue No. 1 and No. 2. The Texas law includes those colors as well as titanium dioxide, which is used for white coloring, and Red No. 4 and preservatives, like butylated hydroxyanisole (BTA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BTH). In addition, the mention of ineresterfied oils in these state laws is causing anxiety for many in the food industry. Oils in the legislation include interesterified palm oil and interesterified soybean oil. Most regulatory bodies encourage but do not require specific inclusion of the term ‘interesterified’ in food labeling. Since the FDA has mandated phasing out of dietary trans fats, the food industry is reformulating many of its products with interesterified fats. Current labeling requirements enable these fats to appear in foods under umbrella terms such as ‘vegetable oils,’ ‘fully hydrogenated oils,’ ‘palm oil,’ ‘palm kernel oil,’ ‘high stearate,’ or ‘stearic rich’ fats.

Countries outside the US have similar labeling requirements. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) food labeling guidelines state: “Since interesterification is not hydrogenation or modification, the FDR [Food and Drug Regulations] do not specifically require that ‘interesterification’ be declared in the common name of the product. However, the CFIA also encourages the use of the common name ‘interesterified (naming the vegetable oil).’

In the European Union regulations determine the type of fats permitted for use in chocolate. Aside from a minimum percentage of cocoa butter requirement, only six types of vegetable fats (illipe, palm oil, sal, shea, kokum gurgi and mango kernel) are authorized for use and must be obtained only by the processes of refining, fractionation or both. The law excludes enzymatic (or chemical) modification of the TAG structure. Hence, IE fats may not be used in chocolate

but can be used for chocolate-flavored confectionery fillings or coatings. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has indicated his preference for US regulation that is like the EU and UK. He has indicated a preference to eliminate the GRAS,

US states are increasingly proposing and adopting stricter, ingredient specific laws that vary from state-to-state.

In a recent meeting of the United Kingdom’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) a roundtable discussion by participants covered the role that interesterified (IE) fats have in reducing saturated fatty acids (SFA) and ‘industrial’ total fatty acid (TFA) intake in the UK and elsewhere. But like in the US and Canada, these rules do not require a product to be labeled as “interesterified.” Some researchers would like the interesterification label to be added to foods, because they argue that we cannot study whether they have any negative health effects unless we know the food that contains them.

Generally Recognized As Safe, program. In March, the Food and Drug Administration proposed a rule that companies provide health data and other documentation when declaring a new food ingredient or additive is safe , which many see as a step toward greater oversight than the voluntary approval process. Food manufacturers have expressed concern for such restrictions. They do not want the federal government so strictly determining the type of ingredients that are permitted for use in foods.

Rebecca Guenard is the editor-in-chief of INFORM magazine, she can be contacted at rebecca.guenard@aocs.org.