Will West Virginia Become the First State to Ban Artificial Food Dyes?

By Louis Conte, Health Freedom Editor, The Kennedy Beacon.

In West Virginia, a consequential food bill has quietly made its way to Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s desk, where, if signed, could make West Virginia the first state in the nation to enact a ban on certain dyes and additives found in processed food.

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This bill could literally be a life saver for West Virginia residents, a state that has been ranked the most ‘obese’ in America, with nearly 41% of residents fitting that category. The 2021 study was conducted by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and may help explain the state’s high rates of diabetes and cancer.

According to a fact sheet published on the American Diabetes Association’s website, 15.9 percent of West Virginians have diabetes, or nearly 230,000 people. And a 2022 CDC report on states’ mortality rates found West Virginia among the nation’s top five.

The food bill in question, West Virginia House Bill No. 2354, was introduced to the state’s legislature on Feb. 13. It calls for prohibiting the sale of any food product in the state that contains Red No. 3 or No. 40, Yellow No. 5 or No. 6, Blue No. 1 or No. 2, or Green No. 3.

On February 28, the bill passed in the House by a vote of 93 to 5. On March 5, an amended bill passed in the State Senate, 31 to 2. On March 13, the House passed the senate’s amended bill, 79 to 17.

While the state’s legislature is in session (until April 12), Governor Morrisey has five days to approve or veto a bill. After the legislature adjourns, the governor has 15 days to act on most bills. If the governor does not act within these time limits, bills automatically become law without his signature.

As noted in Food Business News, other states, such as Florida and Oklahoma, are moving similar bills through their legislatures. And in neighboring Virginia, Senate Bill No. SB1289 | 2025 seeks to ban selling food items in public schools that contain dyes such asBlue No. 1 or No. 2, Green No. 3, Red No. 3 or No. 40, Yellow No. 5 or No. 6.

Viewed together, these actions by state legislatures are further evidence that the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, shepherded by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and supported by President Trump, is gaining momentum. As reported by my colleague, Jennifer Galardi, their drive to help alleviate the chronic disease epidemic in America is just beginning to take flight.

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