Packaged food in the U.S. still relies on a small group of additives that appear in everything from candy and frosting to cereals and snack mixes. The biggest confirmed federal move came on Jan. 15, 2025, when the FDA said it was revoking authorization for Red No. 3, while titanium dioxide, BHA, BHT and propyl gallate remained permitted in many products.
What changed at the federal level
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on Jan. 15, 2025, that it would no longer allow Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs, ending a color additive approval that had been under pressure for years. The agency said the action followed a 2022 color additive petition and was tied to the Delaney Clause, a federal standard that bars additives found to induce cancer in humans or animals.
Red No. 3 is different from titanium dioxide, BHA, BHT and propyl gallate because the FDA has not announced comparable revocations for those additives. BHA is authorized as a preservative in foods including cereals and snack products under FDA rules, while BHT and propyl gallate also remain allowed within set limits, according to the agency’s food additive regulations.
Titanium dioxide is still permitted in U.S. food at levels not exceeding 1% by weight of the food, per FDA regulation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified titanium dioxide as possibly carcinogenic to humans in 2006 by inhalation, which is narrower than a finding based on eating food. The National Toxicology Program’s Report on Carcinogens has also listed BHA as reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen.
How this is playing out in states and on store shelves
California has moved faster than the federal government on several additives. In October 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the California Food Safety Act, which bans brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben and Red Dye No. 3 starting in 2027, but that law does not ban titanium dioxide, BHA or BHT.
That means shoppers in Los Angeles, San Diego and Sacramento may still see titanium dioxide, BHA, BHT or propyl gallate on ingredient labels, depending on the product. California has not issued a statewide ban on those three additives, and the state has not released any list of products that could be reformulated because companies often change recipes privately.
Outside California, the rules are also mixed. The European Union banned titanium dioxide as a food additive in 2022 after the European Food Safety Authority said genotoxicity concerns could not be ruled out, while the U.K. has taken a different regulatory path since Brexit. In the U.S., no 50-state labeling alert exists for BHA, BHT or propyl gallate beyond standard ingredient disclosure on packaging.
Why these additives remain common and what shoppers can expect
These additives remain common in packaged food because they do specific jobs that manufacturers still value. Titanium dioxide whitens candies, coffee creamers and frostings, while BHA, BHT and propyl gallate slow oxidation in oils and help shelf-stable products last longer, according to FDA ingredient definitions and longstanding industry use.
Cancer-related concern does not always mean a substance is banned for every use, and regulators often distinguish between dose, route of exposure and available evidence. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classification for titanium dioxide focused on inhalation exposure, while BHA’s federal carcinogen listing by the National Toxicology Program does not automatically trigger an FDA prohibition in food.
For shoppers, the practical reality in 2025 is that ingredient labels remain the main confirmed source of information. The FDA has set Jan. 15, 2027, as the deadline for removing Red No. 3 from food and Jan. 18, 2028, for ingested drugs, but it has not announced parallel phaseout dates for titanium dioxide, BHA, BHT or propyl gallate. For now, those additives can still legally appear in packaged foods sold across the U.S.
