General Mills and Kraft Heinz are now the largest US packaged food companies to fully commit to eliminating the dyes regulated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Kraft Heinz, which owns the Heinz and Oscar Mayer brands, announced earlier Tuesday that it’s not introducing any new products in the US with the dyes, according to a statement from the company.The changes mark a victory for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The HHS and the FDA said in April that they’ll work with food producers to eliminate synthetic food dyes by the end of 2026. Industry groups have previously said no agreement exists on the matter, however.
“We are continuously evolving our recipes, products and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers,” said Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz, in a statement. “The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors, and we’ve been on a journey to reduce our use of FD&C colors across the remainder of our portfolio.”
The term FD&C colors refers to seven common synthetic dyes approved for use in food by the Food and Drug Administration that make up nearly all of the artificial colors consumed by Americans. The FDA announced in January that it would ban Red No. 3, and then in April said it would look to remove the other six.
“Kraft’s action is an example of the system working,” HHS advisor Calley Means told Bloomberg. Means said that government officials and activists calling for an overhaul to US food and health policy have been engaging with food industry leaders, and he expects other companies will make similar announcements soon.
Kennedy also applauded Kraft Heinz’s move in a post on X.
“I urge more companies to follow this lead and put the well-being of American families first,” he wrote.
Nearly 90% of Kraft Heinz’s products sold in the US contain no synthetic dyes, according to the company. It removed dyes from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in 2016.
Even so, Kraft Heinz still lists dozens of products that use them, from salad dressings and color-changing marshmallows to condiments such as relish. Many of the products are in the company’s desserts and drinks categories, including its portfolio of Mio water flavor enhancers, Crystal Light and Kool-Aid drink mixes, and Jell-O gelatins and puddings, a spokesperson for Kraft Heinz said.
In products where colors are not “critical to the consumer experience,” Kraft Heinz will remove them outright.
In other instances, it will replace synthetic dyes with natural dyes — or create new colorants “where matching natural replacements are not available.”
The firm will also work with licensees of its brands to urge the removal of the dyes. Partners such as Morris National Inc., for example, produce candies under the Jell-O brand that contain synthetic dyes, while Frankford makes Oscar Meyer branded hot dog gummies.
Kraft Heinz cut its annual sales and profit outlook earlier this year after posting a sixth straight quarter of declining revenue. In May, the company said it was evaluating deals in an effort to boost its stock price while announcing that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was giving up its board seats.
The company’s stock is down 16% this year through Tuesday’s close, compared with an increase of 1.7% for the S&P 500 Index over the same period.
General Mills currently has products including Betty Crocker frosting and Lucky Charms cereal containing the synthetic dyes.
The company’s shares are down 17% through Tuesday’s close. In late May, it said that it would take “targeted organizational actions” that include $70 million of charges in its fourth quarter, primarily from severance.
PepsiCo Inc., which makes snacks such as Doritos and Cheetos, has committed to providing options with natural colors in the years ahead. Tyson Foods Inc. announced in May that it would eliminate all synthetic dyes from its products, though the chicken and meat producer had little exposure to the ingredients.
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