Kraft Heinz, the North American food and beverage company, on June 17, 2025, pledged to eliminate artificial food, drug, and cosmetic (FD&C) dyes entirely from its U.S. portfolio by 2027. This ambitious commitment means that iconic brands with artificial color such as Red 40 and Yellow 5—in Jell-O, Kool-Aid, and certain Lunchables—will be reformulated using natural color or redesigned using new hues where no natural alternatives are available.
The firm also committed to immediately cease introducing any new products with FD&C dyes, a total abandonment of artificial coloring ingredients in the future. Today, almost 90% of Kraft Heinz’s U.S. portfolio is syn-dye-free on a volume of sales basis, a steady but incremental shift over recent years.
The push from health authorities and industry response
This action follows increasing pressure from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), both headed by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been pushing for a ban on synthetic dyes in US food for quite some time now. In April 2025, the FDA provided advance notice that seven widely used petroleum-based synthetic dyes—such as FD&C Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, and Red No. 3—would be phased out by the end of 2026, and Red No. 3 would be phased out earlier.
Although some areas of the industry were slow to commit to the timetable, Kraft Heinz’s move is a significant step forward and an emphatic show of confidence in the FDA initiative. Other food industry majors such as PepsiCo also started ditching the artificial ingredients, with some lines having all artificial coloring eliminated by 2025.
Why the move away from FD&C dyes?
FD&C color additives are approved synthetic food color ingredients certified by the FDA but have been controversial for decades over claims of possible harm to health. Critics blame the color additives for causing hyperactivity in children, allergic reactions, and other ailments. Eliminating them is part of the larger consumer trend of consumers moving toward clean labels and fewer artificial food and beverage ingredients.
Pedro Navio, Kraft Heinz North America president, highlighted the company commitment: “Most of our foods are implementing natural or no colors, and we’ve been on a mission to decrease our use of FD&C colors on the rest of our portfolio. Most importantly, we’re dedicated to delivering nutritious, affordable, and delicious food to Americans, and this is something we don’t do lightly.”
How Kraft Heinz will replace artificial colors
FD&C colors will be replaced with natural colorants derived from fruits, vegetables, and spices by Kraft Heinz and other major producers. Where there are no exact natural equivalents, the company will seek to create new colors and shades in order to ensure the visual appeal of its products is not adversely affected. This is a fine balance between consumer needs and health factors.
Its history with the removal of artificial coloring from Kraft Mac & Cheese in 2016 and that Heinz Tomato Ketchup never had artificial dyes prove it has long-term dedication to minimizing synthetic content.
Broader industry implications
Kraft Heinz’s pledge is one of broader industry changes. The FDA and the HHS want to create national standards and timelines to provide consistency across the food supply, in place of the present patchwork of state laws regarding food additives. Federal leadership will propel reformulation throughout the industry, with consumers enjoying safer and more natural food.
Other large food companies, such as Mars and General Mills, also are in the pipeline to follow suit, though official commitments have come a bit more slowly. PepsiCo, for instance, made plans to eliminate artificial colorings from best-selling snack foods like Lay’s and Tostitos by the end of 2025.
Kraft Heinz’s announcement that it would have removed all FD&C synthetic dyes from its U.S. brands by 2027 is a turning point in the food industry’s march toward natural ingredients. Spurred by regulatory pressure, consumer demand, and health concern, it will change the look and composition of many popular food and beverage brands. As the initial U.S. packaged food behemoth to go whole hog on this change, Kraft Heinz is sending a resounding message to competitors to follow suit in making the food supply in America healthier and more inclusive.
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