US Consumer Push for Additive Curbs Pressures VMS Reformulation
New survey data shows 75% of American adults favour stricter controls on chemical additives and synthetic dyes, compelling brands to overhaul excipient systems.
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Philadelphia, United States — 26 October 2026
Consumer demand for tighter regulation of food additives extends substantially beyond political affiliations in the United States, according to research conducted by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC). While only 26% of US adults identify as supporters of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, support for its leading food-related policy proposals averages 73%.
The study, executed by SSRS across 1,904 respondents, reveals that 80% of adults favour mandatory ultra-processed food (UPF) labelling, 76% demand the removal of petroleum-based food dyes, and 75% call for increased regulation of chemical additives. Furthermore, 54% of consumers ranked regulating chemical additives among their top three health priorities. In contrast, fringe initiatives such as replacing vegetable oils with animal fats garnered just 31% overall support, demonstrating that consumer scrutiny is firmly concentrated on synthetic ingredients and industrial processing aids.
Ingredient suppliers are responding to mounting commercial pressure by deploying clean label alternatives. At IFT FIRST in Chicago, Döhler noted that converting products from synthetic to natural colours represents a primary customer priority, demonstrating gardenia-derived alternatives like San-Ei Blue while managing pH and stability constraints. Similarly, natural preservation specialist Prosur reported surging demand for citrus and rosemary functional systems to replace chemical additives, though vice president Brian Metzger emphasised that alternative systems require rigorous challenge testing to guarantee pathogen control and product shelf life.
What this means for United States
US supplement brand owners and contract manufacturers must immediately audit bills of materials to strip out artificial colours, synthetic binders, and chemical preservatives. With mass-market retailers such as Target, Walmart, and CVS tightening clean label standards, products carrying synthetic dyes face de-listing risks and margin compression. Procurement teams must pre-empt supply bottlenecks by qualifying natural texturisers, such as tapioca starches, and botanical colours well ahead of anticipated federal labelling mandates. Formulators that fail to validate natural alternatives through stability testing risk product degradation, texture loss, and costly emergency recipe overhauls.
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