WEDNESDAY, June 18, 2025 (HealthDay News) — One of the nation’s largest food companies is planning a big change to its ingredients list.

Kraft Heinz said it will stop using artificial dyes in all U.S. products by the end of 2027. The company also said it won’t use any synthetic colors in new products going forward, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Artificial dyes — like Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Blue 1 and 2 and Green 3 — are used in everything from candy and frosting to pie crusts and salad dressing. They are used to make foods look more appealing or bring back color that was lost during processing.

But many health experts, including those in the U.S. government, are now pushing back against them.

In April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a plan to work with food companies to remove six synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply by the end of 2026.

The effort is part of U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” — or MAHA — initiative. Kennedy has blamed artificial dyes and other additives for health problems in children.

While some food industry groups argue the dyes are safe and approved by regulators, others are already changing course. Companies like PepsiCo and WK Kellogg are also working to reduce or replace synthetic dyes.

At Kraft Heinz, nearly 90% of U.S. products already have no artificial dyes, the company said. But some popular items still do — like Crystal Light, Heinz relish, Kool-Aid, Jell-O and Jet-Puffed marshmallow products.

“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,” Pedro Navio, Kraft Heinz’s North America president, told The WSJ.

The company said it will either remove the colors, replace them with natural ones or swap in different colors where exact matches aren’t possible. In some products where color isn’t necessary, it may be removed entirely.

Kraft Heinz has made similar moves before. It took artificial dyes out of Kraft Mac & Cheese in 2016, The WSJ said.

More information

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has more on color additives in foods.

SOURCE: The Wall Street Journal, June 17, 2025

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