TUESDAY, July 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) — A natural blue food coloring made from gardenia fruit has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The additive — dubbed gardenia blue — can now be used in foods like sports drinks, flavored waters, fruit drinks, teas, and both hard and soft candies, the FDA announced July 14.
It’s made by taking a compound called genipin from crushed gardenia fruit and combining it with soy protein. Gardenia fruit has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine.
The color was proposed by the Gardenia Blue Interest Group, CBS News reported.
Even though soy is used to make the dye, the group says no soy is expected to remain in the final product. Because of that, it asked the FDA to let companies skip listing soy as an allergen on food labels.
The FDA is still reviewing that request.
This new color is part of a bigger push to phase out artificial dyes, which have raised concerns in recent years.
"Every day, children are exposed to synthetic chemicals in food that serve no purpose and threaten their health," U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a news release. "The FDA's approval of gardenia blue shows we're finally putting kids first."
The FDA says this is the fourth naturally sourced color approved in the last two months. Others include: galdieria extract blue, calcium phosphate (white) and butterfly pea flower extract (blues, purples and greens).
Kennedy has called on U.S. companies to stop using petroleum-based food dyes by the end of next year.
Several major food and beverage companies have recently announced plans to remove the dyes from their products. They include Nestlé, General Mills and Kraft Heinz.
PIM Brands, maker of Welch’s Fruit Snacks, also announced that it has already begun to remove artificial dyes from them, a process that will continue through next year.
Still, not everyone agrees that synthetic dyes are harmful, CBS News said.
The International Association of Color Manufacturers said in a statement that artificial dyes “are essential for consistency, visual appeal, and consumer trust in food products.”
More information
Learn more about the new gardenia-based food dye at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
SOURCES: CBS News, July 14, 2025; ABC News, July 14, 2025; Fast Company, July 14, 2025