Food Giant Kraft Heinz Announces Plans to End Artificial Dyes by End of 2027

Kraft Heinz announced Tuesday it will not launch any new products with artificial dyes — or Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors — moving forward, and it is opting to end its use in existing products by the end of 2027.

In a press release, the food giant noted that the vast majority of its products — 90 percent — are already absent FD&C colors, otherwise known as synthetic dyes approved by the FDA.

“For the small portion of products that currently contain FD&C colors, the Company has invested significant resources, mobilizing a team to address this complex challenge with a three-pronged approach (3Rs),” it continued, noting its commitment to either remove colors altogether, replace them with natural colors, or reinvent “new colors and shades where matching natural replacements are not available.”

Pedro Navio, North America President at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement that the company is “continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers.”

While he, too, noted that most of their products use either natural colors or have no colors, he said they are committed to making that the case across the entire board.

“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. In fact, we removed artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors from our beloved Kraft Mac & Cheese back in 2016,” he said, providing a specific example.

“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 and this is a privilege we don’t take lightly,” he added.

Bloomberg News notes that the products affected include “Red 40 and Yellow 5 from Jell-O, Kool-Aid and some Lunchables products.”

The move follows action from U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. , who in March urged food companies to strip artificial dyes from their products. As Breitbart News reported:

At a closed-door Washington gathering, which included the CEOs of Kellogg’s, Smucker’s and General Mills, Kennedy said it is a top priority of the Trump administration to rid America’s food of the artificial dyes, wrote Melissa Hockstad, president and CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, a trade group, who penned a memo seen by ABC News.

The following month, both Kennedy and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary announced that “petroleum-based food dyes” would be removed from the U.S. food supply.

“Today, the FDA is taking action to remove petroleum-based food dyes from the U.S. food supply and from medications,” Makary said at the time, continuing:

For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals. The scientific community has conducted a number of studies raising concerns about the correlation between petroleum-based synthetic dyes and several health conditions, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, cancer, genomic disruption, GI issues – as I’ve seen in the hospital, and allergic reactions.

In an FDA News release dated April 22, the FDA walked through the steps it is taking to make this a reality, which includes “establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to transition from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives”; “working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes”; “requesting food companies to remove FD&C Red No. 3 sooner than the 2027-2028 deadline previously required”; authorizing new natural color additives; and more.