Kraft Heinz products, including Jell-O and Kool-Aid, will no longer contain “artificial” food dyes after Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. urged its executives to eliminate harmful ingredients or face regulatory action.
The multinational food and beverage conglomerate announced Tuesday that it will remove all artificial coloring from its products by 2027. Until then, it will not release any new foods that contain synthetic dyes either.
“The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors, and we’ve been on a journey to reduce our use of (artificial) colors across the remainder of our portfolio,” CEO Pedro Navio said in a statement.
Navio added that the company removed artificial colors, preservatives and flavors from Kraft Mac & Cheese in 2016. The corporation is “also working with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove [Food, Drug & Cosmetic] colors.”
The move follows a March meeting in which RFK Jr met with executives from several major food companies, including Kraft Heinz and General Mills, to push for the removal of what he called the “worst ingredients” from processed foods, according to reporting by Bloomberg.
Following the meeting, Melissa Hockstad, CEO of the Consumer Brands Association, noted in a letter that the Health Secretary “made clear his intention to take action unless the industry is willing to be proactive with solutions.”
Originally published on Latin Times
