A number of food companies have recently announced they will remove artificial colors from their products.

That includes the maker of Jell-O and Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Heinz and the giant cereal company, General Mills. Both companies say the vast majority of their products already use natural or no colors.


What You Need To Know

  • Kraft Heinz and General Mills have announced they will remove artificial colors from their products 

  • This comes as some states have restricted artificial colors and the FDA banned Red No. 3

  • Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is also pushing to remove artificial food colors

This has been happening for years, but as some states restrict the dyes, the decisions are getting expedited.

“The food companies aren’t going to start developing products specific to each state, so they will change the products nationally,” said New York University School of Global Public Health associate professor Jennifer Pomeranz.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is campaigning against artificial coloring. 

“We’re going to get rid of the dyes, and then one by one we’re going to get rid of ingredients and additives in food we can legally address,” Kennedy recently said.

In January, the Food and Drug Administration banned the use of Red No. 3, and in April the agency said it would work with the food industry to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes over the next several years. They are dyes that Kennedy calls poisonous. 

“If they want to eat petroleum, they ought to add it themselves at home. They shouldn’t be feeding it to the rest of us,” Kennedy recently said.

“I have seen no evidence that these compounds are poisonous,” said Ohio State University Department of Food Science professor Monica Giusti. “That doesn’t mean they are completely safe… anything should be used correctly and in moderation… so moving away from the synthetic dyes towards the natural compounds, compounds provided from fruits and vegetables, seems like a good idea.”

But doing so comes with some drawbacks, including a potential higher cost for smaller food producers.

“A small producer can’t take on the cost of reformulating their products,” said Virginia Tech University Department of Food Science and Technology extension specialist Melissa Wright. “So if they’re actually making something and putting in color themselves, they’re going to have to figure out 'do I take out the color completely and leave my customer with a product that’s not the same one they’re used to seeing, do I supplement it with something else and absorb that cost, do I pass that cost on to the customer, or do I just simply realize that I probably can’t sustain a small business and go out of business.'”

Moving away from the artificial dyes also could change the look of some products. Dyes are used to create visual consistency among products and draw in consumers.

“Consumers are going to have to tell us whether they appreciate the changes that are being made in the color realm or not. If they continue to buy, great. If they don’t, then I’m not sure how that’s going to go down,” Wright said.