West Virginia governor signs bill banning commonly used food dyes in the state

March 25, 2025

West Virginia GOP Gov. Patrick Morrisey has signed a bill that bans food dyes and other chemicals often used in food preservatives.

“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 Monday on social media when signing the bill. "Today, I signed legislation which prohibits certain harmful food dyes from being used as an ingredient in school lunches and in food items throughout West Virginia."

The dyes that are banned under this legislation are Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Yellow No. 6.

The two chemicals that are being banned are butylated hydroxyanisole and propylparaben.

The ban on the chemicals won't go into effect until 2028 to give companies that sell food and drugs time to adjust.

The ban on dyes for school lunch programs will start Aug. 1 of this year.

Some foods that will be impacted by the ban include Doritos and M&Ms. Drinks that will be impacted include Mountain Dew and certain types of Gatorade.

https://justthenews.com/government/local/west-virginia-governor-signs-bill-banning-commonly-used-food-dyes-state