Kraft Heinz to drop artificial dyes from US products by 2027 amid concerns

By 2027, Kraft Heinz will drop artificial dyes from all US products, backing health-driven reforms and rising demand for safer food ingredients

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Kraft Heinz has officially joined the growing movement to clean up America’s food labels. The global food giant announced plans to remove artificial dyes from all its US products by the end of 2027.

 

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the company also confirmed that it will no longer introduce any new products in the US that contain synthetic colours.

 

The decision comes amid rising scrutiny of artificial food additives by the Trump administration. As part of this effort, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration in April launched a joint initiative aimed at phasing out six synthetic food dyes from the national food supply by the end of next year, citing mounting health concerns and growing public demand for cleaner food labels.

 

For decades, dyes such as Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Green 3, and Blue 1 and 2 have been widely used in everything from candies and cake frostings to unsuspecting items like pie crusts and salad dressings. These additives have been under the spotlight for their potential health risks—something Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has made a centrepiece of his “Make America Healthy Again” campaign. 

 

“This is about our children’s health. These additives are poisoning an entire generation,” Kennedy has said repeatedly, as he pushes for sweeping reforms in the nation’s food system.

 

While many food companies and industry bodies have continued to defend synthetic dyes, citing regulatory approvals and decades of usage, some major players are slowly changing course. PepsiCo and WK Kellogg, for instance, have already started phasing out or limiting their use of artificial colours.

 

Now, Kraft Heinz—co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh—is joining that list. The company revealed that nearly 90 per cent of its US product portfolio (by sales) already contains no artificial dyes. For the remaining products—including popular items like Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, Heinz Relish, Jell-O, and Jet-Puffed marshmallows—the company said it will either replace synthetic dyes with natural alternatives, change the colour profile entirely, or remove colours where they are not essential.

 

“For most of our products, natural replacements are available,” Pedro Navio, President of Kraft Heinz North America, was quoted as saying by The Wall Street Journal.    

“The vast majority of our products use natural or no colours, and we’ve been on a journey to reduce our use of FD&C colours across the remainder of our portfolio,” he said.  This isn’t Kraft Heinz’s first step in this direction. The brand had already removed artificial dyes from its iconic Kraft Mac & Cheese back in 2016.