Synthetic food dyes contribute no nutritional or caloric value to children's meals, but carry risk to their health. Tell Sodexo to follow other food industry commitments, and commit to ending the purchase and distribution of any foods with synthetic dyes. TAKE ACTION:
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John,
While synthetic food dyes serve no nutritional or caloric value, growing evidence suggests they may carry added risk to our health, particularly in children.
Some of these dyes have been increasingly linked to hyperactivity, and Red Dye No.3 was just banned in the United States this year because of the risk of cancer.[1,2]
Call for school lunches that are free of synthetic food dyes.
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Sodexo is one of the largest school food providers in the country, serving food to thousands of children every school day of the year in nearly 400 K-12 school districts.
That's why we're calling on Sodexo to commit to ending the purchase and supplying of any foods that contain synthetic dyes in the hundreds of schools that they serve food in every day.
Sodexo is a leading company in the school foods industry, providing them the unique opportunity to take action to protect our children's health in the thousands of school meals they're providing every day.
Sign our petition today calling on Sodexo to commit to going 100 percent dye free.
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States like Arizona and California have all taken steps to phase dyes out of the school supply, and West Virginia has moved to ban them statewide. You may have also seen in the news recently that Kellogg's, General Mills, and Pepsico have all made pledges to remove synthetic food dyes from their products. These moves build on several other recent industry commitments to eliminate artificial dyes from foods served in schools.[3,4,5,6]
While we wait for more action in the states, or potentially stronger action from the federal government, we're asking the corporations that serve meals to children in schools every day to join the wave of action.
Sodexo can take a big step in protecting children's health, promoting healthy eating, and moving our food systems away from dyes.
Tell Sodexo: Go 100% dye-free in children's foods.
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Thank you,
The team at U.S. PIRG Education Fund
1. "New report shows artificial food coloring causes hyperactivity in some kids," UC Berkeley Public Health, May 24, 2021.
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2. "FDA to Revoke Authorization for the Use of Red No. 3 in Food and Ingested Drugs," US Food and Drug Administration, January 15, 2025.
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3. "Our Commitment to Transparency, Quality and Safety," WK Kellogg Co., last accessed August 12, 2025.
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4. "General Mills Announces Plans to Remove Certified Colors from All U.S. Cereals and All K-12 Foods by Summer 2026," General Mills, June 17, 2025.
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5. "PepsiCo to accelerate phaseout of artificial ingredients," Food Business News, April 28, 2025.
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6. "'Make America Healthy Again': These food brands pledge to remove synthetic dyes," USA Today, July 17, 2025.
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U.S. PIRG Education Fund
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