MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (WSAZ) – Governor Morrisey will be joined by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Friday morning to make announcements regarding food dyes and proposed changes to SNAP at a press conference in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
You can watch the remarks by clicking below at 10 a.m.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey signed House Bill 2354 into law, which prohibits certain harmful food dyes from being used as an ingredient in school lunches.
State Del. Adam Burkhammer, R-Lewis, said the notion that food dyes have detrimental affects on children’s behavior and seeing the affects in his own home, he knew he needed to look deeper.
“What I would say conspiracy theory became reality to us when we realized it was having a detrimental affect on the behavior of our son. So we started instituting a dye-free diet and saw his behavior change drastically. He was able to focus more simple things like dinner time went better,” Burkhammer said.
The legislation deems the following food additives unsafe and prohibits their use as an ingredient in any meal served in a school nutrition program beginning Aug. 1, 2025:
- Red Dye No. 3
- Red Dye No. 40
- Yellow Dye No. 5
- Yellow Dye No. 6
- Blue Dye No. 1
- Blue Dye No. 2
- Green Dye No. 3
Burkhammer said, “We’re talking mainly about the products that are being cooked in the schools and being proved directly to the children.”
Beginning on Jan. 1, 2028, the same dyes, along with preservatives butylated, hydroxyanisole, and propylparaben, must not be contained in drugs and food items for sale in the state. This extended deadline allows companies ample time to adjust, protecting consumers from price increases.
“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,” Morrisey said. “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.”
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