Kraft Heinz to remove all artificial dyes by end of 2027

Kraft Heinz Co. said it will remove synthetic food dyes from all of its U.S. products by the end of 2027, eliminating ingredients such as Red 40 and Yellow 5 from Jell-O, Kool-Aid and some Lunchables products.

Kraft Heinz is the largest U.S. packaged food company to fully commit to eliminating the artificial colorants regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. The owner of the Heinz and Oscar Mayer brands also isn’t introducing any new products in the U.S. with the dyes.

The change marks a victory for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The health agency and the FDA said in April that they’ll work with food producers to eliminate synthetic food dyes by the end of 2026. Industry groups, however, have previously said no agreement exists on the matter.

“We are continuously evolving our recipes, products and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers,” Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement. “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.”

The term “FD&C colors” refers to seven common synthetic dyes approved for use in food by the FDA that make up nearly all of the artificial colors consumed by Americans. The FDA announced in January that it would ban Red No. 3, and then in April said it would look to remove the other six.

Nearly 90% of Kraft Heinz’s products sold in the U.S. contain no synthetic dyes, according to the company. It removed dyes from Kraft Macaroni & Cheese in 2016.

Even so, Kraft Heinz still lists dozens of products that use them, such as salad dressings and color-changing marshmallows to condiments such as relish. Many of the products are in the company’s desserts and drinks categories, including its portfolio of Mio water flavor enhancers, Crystal Light and Kool-Aid drink mixes as well as Jell-O gelatins and puddings, a Kraft Heinz spokesperson said.

In products where colors are not “critical to the consumer experience,” Kraft Heinz will remove them outright.

In other instances, it will replace synthetic dyes with natural dyes — or create new colorants “where matching natural replacements are not available.”

The company also will work with licensees of its brands to urge the removal of the dyes. Partners such as Morris National Inc., for example, produce candies under the Jell-O brand that contain synthetic dyes, while Frankford makes Oscar Mayer-branded hot dog gummies.

Kraft Heinz cut its annual sales and profit outlook this year after posting a sixth straight quarter of declining revenue. In May, the company said it was evaluating deals in an effort to boost its stock price while announcing that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was giving up its board seats.

The company’s stock is down 16% this year through Monday’s close, well below the Standard & Poor’s 500 index’s 2.6% increase over the same period.

PepsiCo Inc., which makes snacks such as Doritos and Cheetos, has committed to providing options with natural colors in the years ahead. Tyson Foods Inc. announced in May that it would eliminate all synthetic dyes from its products, though the chicken and meat producer had little exposure to the ingredients.

Kubzansky writes for Bloomberg.