Kraft Heinz opts to remove artificial dyes by end of 2027

Green and blue colors will be harder for 
 the company to recreate. (Kraft Heinz image)

After decades of use, Kraft Heinz is "ditching artificial dyes," reports Jesse Newman of The Wall Street Journal. "The move comes as the Trump administration is pushing to strip artificial dyes from the U.S. food supply." Kraft Heinz aims to remove the dyes from products including Crystal Light, Heinz relish, Kool-Aid, Jell-O and Jet-Puffed products before the end of 2027. 

Although the U.S. has been monitoring color additives in commercial products since the 1880s, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "has blamed artificial colors and other food additives for a litany of health problems, and said that they are poisoning American children," Newman writes. And while many food conglomerates have defended dyes as safe, "some are working to phase out or limit their use of dyes, including PepsiCo and cereal maker WK Kellogg."

Switching to natural dyes will be relatively easy in some Kraft Heinz products, but recreating greens and blues will be more difficult. "The company said it would replace those with other colors," Newman explains. "In products where color isn’t critical, Kraft Heinz will remove them entirely."

Pedro Navio, who heads the company's North American sector, told the Journal, "The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors, and we’ve been on a journey to reduce our use of [artificial] colors across the remainder of our portfolio."

The Food and Drug Administration, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, said this spring "that it aimed to work with the food industry to remove six synthetic dyes by the end of next year," Newman adds. "Kraft Heinz also said it would no longer use artificial colors in new products in the U.S."