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Packaged food company Kraft Heinz has pledged to strip artificial dyes from all US products, but a year later than federal regulators envisioned, as the Trump administration clamps down on synthetic ingredients.
The company said it will remove all artificial colours from its US portfolio before the end of 2027. The dyes are found in certain beverage and dessert brands such as Kool-Aid drinks, Jell-O gelatin and Jet-Puffed marshmallows, Kraft Heinz said.
The pledge comes less than two months after the Food and Drug Administration declared it would phase out most petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the US food supply “by the end of next year” through what US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said was an understanding with the food industry.
Artificial food colours were among Kennedy’s first targets as he pursues an agenda he calls “Make America Healthy Again”. Sceptics said the voluntary nature of the phaseout of synthetic dyes regulated under the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act lessened its force.
“The vast majority of our products use natural or no colours, and we’ve been on a journey to reduce our use of FD & C colours across the remainder of our portfolio,” said Pedro Navio, Kraft Heinz’s North America president.
The company said it removed artificial colours from Kraft Mac & Cheese in 2016, and said the colour of Heinz ketchup comes only from tomatoes.
Kraft Heinz said it felt confident in its timeline, as certain colours are difficult to obtain or replicate. “We’re targeting the end of 2027 to ensure we’re delivering the best possible quality, taste and experience for consumers,” it said.
Kraft Heinz was formed through a 2015 merger backed by investment groups 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
The company’s stock has declined more than 60 per cent in the past decade as the company’s sales volumes have faltered. Two delegates from Berkshire Hathaway, which has a 27.5 per cent stake, resigned from the Kraft Heinz board last month. The company has been exploring “potential strategic transactions” to boost its share price, which analysts say could include divestitures.
Besides his food dye announcement, Kennedy has initiated a review of regulatory processes for determining whether an ingredient is safe and undertaken actions that reflect his long-standing scepticism towards vaccines.
Last month, a commission he chaired produced a report on the purported causes of chronic childhood illness. The paper, which US media reported contained some false citations, linked certain food colourings to symptoms consistent with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.
Meat processor Tyson Foods said it would eliminate synthetic dyes from its products by the end of May, while PepsiCo said that Lay’s crisps and Tostitos tortilla chips would no longer have artificial colours by the end of this year.
Kraft Heinz said nearly 90 per cent of its US net sales are from products free of FD & C colours. For the remainder, the company will either remove colours when they are “not critical to the consumer experience,” replace them with natural colours or find new colours or shades in the absence of natural alternatives.