MAHA: Nestlé to Remove FD&C Colors by Mid-2026

Nestlé is latest food giant to announce steps it is taking to Make America Healthy Again, vowing to remove all Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors from its products next year.

In a June 25 press release, Nestlé noted that the vast majority of their products are already absent of these dyes. However, they are committed to removing FD&C colors from their remaining food and beverage products in the U.S. by mid-2026.

“This effort is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to provide consumers with a range of high-quality, nutritious foods and beverages that reflect the diversity and choices that they want,” the press release reads.

“Consumers enjoy a wide variety of foods and beverages as part of their daily diet. They want choice and value shaped by a dynamic – and highly personal – combination of nutrition, quality, price and convenience,” Nestlé USA CEO Marty Thompson said in a statement.

“Whether it’s an easy and nutritious family meal, an occasional snack, or a satisfying cup of coffee, we are always looking for different ways to offer great tasting, compelling choices for our consumers,” Thompson continued. “As their diverse dietary preferences and nutritional needs evolve, we evolve with them.”

This move follows consistent calls from MAHA leaders — including FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — calling on companies to end synthetic dyes in their products.

In April, both Makary and Kennedy announced that they were working to remove “petroleum-based food dyes” from the U.S. food supply altogether. An FDA press release specifically stated the agency was “working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes — FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2 — from the food supply by the end of next year.”

“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” Kennedy said in a corresponding statement.

“These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development. That era is coming to an end. We’re restoring gold-standard science, applying common sense, and beginning to earn back the public’s trust. And we’re doing it by working with industry to get these toxic dyes out of the foods our families eat every day,” he added.

Other food giants have followed suit. Kraft Heinz recently announced it will not launch any new products with artificial dyes moving forward while planning to end its use in existing products by the end of 2027. General Mills also stated that it is working to remove artificial colors foods in K-12 schools, as well as from all of its cereals in the U.S.

“Additionally, the company will work to remove certified colors from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027,” a press release from the company detailed.

Conagra Brands Inc. is also moving in that direction, vowing to eliminate artificial dyes. It plans to remove them from U.S. frozen food products by the end of this year and eliminate the “use of FD&C colors in the manufacturing of products across its U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027,” per its press release.