Kraft Heinz Is Removing Artificial Dyes From Kool-Aid, Jell-O, Crystal Light By 2027: 'Natural or No Colors' The move could alter the appearance of these products.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- Kraft Heinz said on Tuesday that it will remove artificial dyes from its products by the end of 2027.
- The move affects about 10% of the company’s products by net sales.
The colors of Jell-O might look different on store shelves in three years as Kraft Heinz makes a sweeping change to remove artificial dyes from its products.
Kraft Heinz announced on Tuesday that it will discontinue using artificial dyes in the formulation of its products by the end of 2027. In addition to Jell-O, Kraft Heinz is removing artificial colors from its Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, flavored water MiO, and marshmallow Jet-Puffed products. The company said the change would only affect about 10% of its products by net sales.
"The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors," Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz, stated in a press release. He mentioned, for example, that Heinz tomato ketchup has never had artificial dyes; the red color comes from tomatoes.
Kraft Heinz has assembled a team to remove artificial colors where they are not needed, replace artificial dyes with natural colors, or formulate new natural colors if natural replacements are unavailable.
The company will also not launch any new products with artificial dyes, effective Tuesday.
Kraft Heinz is the first major food manufacturer to commit to stop using artificial dyes, per The New York Times. In 2016, Kraft replaced the bright orange dye in its Kraft Mac & Cheese with color derived from a mix of natural spices like turmeric, annatto, and paprika.
Kraft's shift away from artificial dyes arrives after the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., met with Kraft Heinz CEO Carlos Abrams-Rivera and other food industry leaders in March. Kennedy said at a news conference the following month that he had reached "an understanding" with food manufacturers to remove artificial food colorings from products within the next few years.
Regulators have also moved to ban artificial dyes. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a ban on the artificial food coloring Red No. 3, currently found in everything from cold medicine to candy, due to its link to cancer. The dye will no longer be allowed in food starting in 2027. The FDA is also eliminating other petroleum-based dyes by the end of 2026, including yellow dye 5 and blue dye 1.
Kraft Heinz is the fifth-largest food and beverage manufacturer in the world, with revenues of $26 billion in 2022. The company sells brands like Cool Whip and Philadelphia.
