A lemon stamped REVOKED in red ink beside a wooden rubber stamp, with the FDA logo, on a white background

FDA Ends Methylene Chloride Use in Inks That Mark Fruit and Vegetables

Two FDA orders end every color additive use of three chlorinated solvents, from produce-marking inks to annatto, paprika and turmeric colors. Decaf coffee is not covered.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is ending the use of methylene chloride in inks that mark fruit and vegetables, and it is revoking every remaining authorization for that solvent and two others, ethylene dichloride and trichloroethylene, as color additives or in the production of color additives. The agency announced the two orders on Nov. 9. They take effect Jan. 11, 2027, according to FDA.

TLDR

  • Starting Jan. 11, 2027, methylene chloride can no longer be used as a diluent in inks for marking fruit and vegetables. FDA acted under the Delaney Clause after finding it causes cancer in laboratory animals.
  • All three solvents also lose their approval as extraction solvents for three natural colors: annatto extract, paprika oleoresin and turmeric oleoresin.
  • That second change came at the request of the International Association of Color Manufacturers (IACM), which showed the industry had already abandoned those uses.
  • The orders cover color additives only. Separate food additive rules still allow residues of these solvents in spice oleoresins and decaffeinated coffee.

Two Petitions, Two Legal Paths

The first order answers a petition FDA filed in December 2023 from the Environmental Defense Fund, Breast Cancer Prevention Partners, the Center for Environmental Health, the Environmental Working Group and Lisa Lefferts. They asked FDA to strike the three solvents from four color additive rules, citing the Delaney Clause. That part of federal law says a color additive that is eaten must be deemed unsafe if it has been found to cause cancer in humans or animals.

FDA agreed that all three solvents cause cancer in animals. It cited National Cancer Institute and National Toxicology Program studies that found liver and lung tumors in mice for methylene chloride, liver cancer in mice for trichloroethylene and several tumor types in rats for ethylene dichloride.

But FDA granted only one request: the ink diluent use, where methylene chloride counts as a color additive itself. It denied the rest. In annatto, paprika and turmeric colors, FDA said, any leftover solvent is an impurity, and the Delaney Clause does not apply to impurities.

Industry Had Already Moved On

The second order closes that gap on different grounds. IACM petitioned FDA to remove the same uses on the grounds that industry had abandoned them. Its survey covered 44 companies and 3 trade associations representing another 375 companies, according to the order. Every participating company confirmed it had abandoned the solvents for making these colors.

FDA said it received no comments showing current use and agreed the uses were abandoned. FDA denied as moot IACM’s matching request on the produce-ink use, because the first order had already removed it. Until the orders take effect, total chlorinated solvent residues in these colors are capped at 30 parts per million. With both orders, FDA says the three solvents have no remaining authorized uses as color additives or in making them.

What Stays the Same

Other FDA rules still list these solvents as allowed residues in some foods. Methylene chloride may be present at up to 30 parts per million in spice oleoresins and up to 10 parts per million in decaffeinated coffee. Trichloroethylene is allowed at up to 25 parts per million in decaffeinated ground coffee.

The same coalition filed a separate food additive petition the same day asking FDA to remove benzene and these three solvents from food additive rules, including decaf coffee. FDA reopened comments on it, which closed June 29, 2026, Daily Coffee News reported. FDA has not published a decision on it in the Federal Register. The Nov. 9 orders do not address that petition.

Both orders are scheduled for Federal Register publication on Nov. 10. Objections and hearing requests are due Dec. 10.

Why It Matters

Annatto, paprika and turmeric are among the natural colors many brands are using to replace synthetic dyes. These orders take chlorinated solvents out of the rules for how those colors are made, a change the color industry says it had already made in practice. Whether the same solvents stay in decaf coffee and spice extracts is still an open question at FDA.

Sources: FDA constituent update (Nov. 9, 2026); Federal Register orders 2026-22865 (Docket FDA-2023-C-5679) and 2026-22866 (Docket FDA-2026-C-3071), on public inspection Nov. 9; 21 CFR Part 173; Daily Coffee News (June 30, 2026).