Kraft Heinz to Remove FD&C Colors from U.S. Products

Red soda in glass bottles — Getty Images
*Photo courtesy of Getty Images Plus / vld.enc*

The Kraft Heinz Company has announced it will remove Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors from its U.S. product portfolio before the end of 2027 and will not launch any new products with FD&C colors.

The move follows a recent initiative by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply. The agency began the process to revoke authorization of Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B. FDA will work with the industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes — FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1 and FD&C Blue No. 2 — by the end of next year.

Kraft Heinz reports nearly 90% of its U.S. products – by net sales – are free of FD&C colors. For the remaining products, the company says it has “invested significant resources” and mobilized a team to address this challenge with a three-pronged approach:

Removing colors where it is not critical to the consumer experience
Replacing FD&C colors with natural colors
Reinventing new colors and shades where matching natural replacements are not available

Based on a review of the company’s website, its Jell-O dessert mixes, Mio water enhancers, Jet-Puffed marshmallows, and Kool-Aid and Crystal Light drink mixes appear to contain FD&C colors.

“As a food company with a 150-plus year heritage, we are continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers,” says Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz. “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. In fact, we removed artificial colors, preservatives and flavors from our beloved Kraft Mac & Cheese back in 2016. Our iconic Heinz Tomato Ketchup has never had artificial dyes – the red color comes simply from the world’s best tomatoes. Above all, we are focused on providing nutritious, affordable and great-tasting food for Americans and this is a privilege we don’t take lightly.”

As part of this process, Kraft Heinz is also working with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove FD&C colors.