Food conglomerate Kraft Heinz announced Tuesday its plan to remove artificial food dyes from its products by 2027, marking a victory for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in his quest to remake the American food supply.
Kraft Heinz said it would not be launching any new products with artificial food dyes and vowed to remove the remaining food dyes from its U.S. portfolio by the end of 2027. The company also disclosed that almost 90 percent of its products are free from artificial food dyes, measured by net sales.
“As a food company with a 150+ year heritage, we are continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers,” Kraft Heinz North America president Pedro Navio 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 announcement comes after Kennedy and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary moved in April to phase out eight popular food additives found in a large swath of American goods. Kennedy and Makary believe artificial food dyes hinder childhood development by causing aggression and hyperactive behavior.
Removing chemical dyes from the food supply is one plank of Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement, a loosely defined coalition of activists skeptical of public health authorities and concerned about chronic disease.
“This voluntary step—phasing out harmful dyes in brands like Kool-Aid, Jell‑O, and Crystal Light—proves that when the government sets clear, science-based standards, the food industry listens and acts. I urge more companies to follow this lead and put the well-being of American families first. Together, we will Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said on X.
Before Kennedy’s action against food dyes, West Virginia passed a series of MAHA-inspired bills including legislation banning certain food dyes in a major state level victory for Kennedy’s movement. California previously banned Red Dye No. 3 before the MAHA movement became mainstream, a reflection of the movement’s abnormal politics. Right before the Trump administration took over, the Biden administration banned Red Dye No. 3 in January after research in lab mice linked it to cancer.
Kraft Heinz is taking a three pronged approach to getting artificial food dyes out of its products. It will remove them when they are not necessary, replace them with natural colors, or reinvent new colors in shades in situations where natural replacements are not available.
“WIN: Kraft Heinz leading the charge to ditch chemical dyes in food and drinks — proof industry can step up without government intervention!” said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.
“Healthier America starts here!”
Kraft Heinz owns famous brands such as Jell-O, Kool Aid, Kraft mac & cheese, Oscar Mayer, and Capri Sun. The company says it has made over 1,000 recipe changes to improve product nutrition over the past five years.