Kraft Heinz and General Mills to phase out synthetic color additives in the next two years

Kraft Heinz will remove all traces of synthetic dyes with Food, Drug and Cosmetic (FD&C) colors from its US portfolio by the end of 2027 while packaged food maker General Mills plans to remove certified colors from all its US cereals and all K-12 school foods by summer 2026. The company also pledges to remove certified colors from its full retail portfolio by the end of 2027.

General Mills says this change impacts only a small portion of its K-12 school portfolio, as all school offerings are already made without certified colors, while 85% of its full US retail portfolio is currently made without certified colors.

The company markets several cereal brands, including Cheerios, Wheaties, Chex, Lucky Charms, Trix, Cocoa Puffs, and Monster cereals.

Color reformulation

Kraft Heinz has a similar story. The food giant pledges not to launch any new products in the US containing the synthetic dyes which have been at the center of food safety issues for some time. 

Almost 90% of Kraft Heinz US products are already free of FD&C colors, and the company has changed more than 1,000 recipes to improve nutrition in the last five years. 

The company says it has invested “significant resources” to tackle the remaining 10% of Kraft Heinz products that still contain synthetic colors.

Its strategy for the removal includes removing colors where they are not critical to the consumer experience, replacing FD&C colors with natural colors, and reinventing new shades where matching natural replacements are not available. 

“As a food company with a 150+ year heritage, we are continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers. 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,” says Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz. 

“We removed artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors from our Kraft Mac & Cheese back in 2016. Our iconic Heinz Tomato Ketchup has never had artificial dyes — the red color comes simply from the world’s best tomatoes. Above all, we are focused on providing nutritious, affordable, and great-tasting food for Americans.” 

Kraft Heinz is also working with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove FD&C colors.

Regulatory clampdowns

In March, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ramped up the pressure on US F&B innovators to remove the controversial synthetic colors from their formulations. Food companies were encouraged to take a proactive approach to avoid government intervention. 

A few months earlier, US regulators said Red dye No. 3 — a synthetic color additive that offers a bright, cherry-red color — will no longer be allowed in US food or ingested drugs from January 15, 2027.

And by April, RFK and the US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary had laid out plans to take action on a broader set of petroleum-based synthetic dyes that are used to make food and beverages brightly colored.

Key players like Kraft Heinz and General Mills stepping up to the challenge shows support for the move and could pave the way for other food and beverage companies to follow suit.