Nestle to Remove All Artificial Ingredients from US Confectionery Range

19 Feb 2015 --- Nestlé USA has announced its commitment to removing artificial flavours and FDA-certified colours, like Red 40 and Yellow 5, from all of its chocolate candy products. It is the first major confectionery producer in the US to make such a move.

By the end of 2015, more than 250 products and 10 brands including Nestlé Butterfinger, Crunch and Baby Ruth will be free of artificial flavours and certified colours. Products will begin appearing on store shelves by mid-2015, and will be identified by a “No Artificial Flavors or Colors” claim featured on-pack.

“Nestlé is the world’s leading nutrition, health and wellness company and our commitment to remove artificial flavours and certified colours in our chocolate candy brands is an important milestone,” said Doreen Ida, president, Nestlé USA Confections & Snacks. “We know that candy consumers are interested in broader food trends around fewer artificial ingredients. As we thought about what this means for our candy brands, our first step has been to remove artificial flavours and colours without affecting taste or increasing the price. We’re excited to be the first major US candy manufacturer to make this commitment.”

According to Ida, Nestlé USA conducted research on brands like Butterfinger, which indicates that US consumers prefer candy brands they know and love to be free from artificial flavours and colours. Further, findings show more than 60% of Americans say no artificial colours or flavours is important to their food purchase decisions.

Nestlé USA is achieving this commitment by removing artificial flavours and colours, and replacing them with ingredients from natural sources. For example, in the Butterfinger centre, annatto, which comes from the seeds found in the fruit from the achiote tree, will replace Red 40 and Yellow 5. In Crunch, natural vanilla flavour will replace artificial vanillin.

“We never compromise on taste. When making these changes to more than 75 recipes, maintaining the great taste and appearance consumers expect from the chocolate brands they know and love is our #1 priority,” said Leslie Mohr, nutrition, health and wellness manager, Nestlé Confections & Snacks. “We conducted consumer testing to ensure the new recipe delivers on our high standards for taste and appearance.”

Going forward, all newly launched chocolate and non-chocolate candy products (gummies, sours, etc.) introduced by Nestlé USA will be made without artificial flavours or colours. Additionally, Nestlé USA is actively pursuing the removal of caramel colouring from its chocolate products. Caramel colouring is an exempt-from-certification colour additive, which is used in only nine of the more than 250 chocolate products.