Artificial Pigment Exclusion in earnest...Kraft Heinz to be completely removed by the end of 2027

Jun 17, 2025

Artificial Pigment Exclusion in earnest...Kraft Heinz to be completely removed by the end of 2027
Photo=Craft Heinz homepage



In response to the announcement by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vowed to phase out oil-based synthetic food pigments, food giant Kraft Heinz said it would immediately halt the launch of new products using artificial pigments in products in the U.S. and completely remove them from existing products by the end of 2027.

According to Kraft Heinz on the 17th (local time), the company has already made related efforts, including removing artificial pigments from its flagship product, Mac & Cheese, in 2016 and has recently announced a full-scale exit plan in line with government policies. Kraft Heinz said on the same day that nearly 90% of products sold in the United States already do not use artificial pigments, and Heinz tomato ketchup, its flagship product, has never used artificial dyes.

Earlier, Secretary Kennedy made artificial coloring a top priority during his term in office and strongly asked for an end to the use of artificial coloring at meetings with major food companies such as Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo, General Mills, and Kellogg.




At the time, the FDA announced that it planned to cancel the permit altogether for the six types, including Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, and Blue No. 1, 2026, and 2027 for Red No. 3, respectively. Food pigments that have been removed are currently widely used in cereals, salad dressings, sports drinks, carbonated drinks, candy, and snacks in the United States.

Some analyze that Kraft Heinz's suspension of artificial pigment use is a desperate measure to keep up with consumers' tastes. Kraft Heinz's revenue fell by 6.4% last quarter, according to CNN.

In this regard, Kraft Heinz "recently made significant progress in improving nutritional profiles.""Adding protein and dietary fiber, and changing more than 1000 product recipes to reduce sugar, salt, and saturated fat. Through these changes, we plan to cut nearly 55 million pounds of sugar across our portfolio by the end of the year"






This article was translated by Naver AI translator.