The Kraft Heinz Company announced that it will no longer launch any products in the United States that contain artificial FD&C (Food, Drug & Cosmetic) colors, effective immediately. The company also said it will remove remaining FD&C colors from its entire portfolio in the country by the end of 2027.
Currently, nearly 90% of Kraft Heinz products in the U.S. are already free of these colors, based on net sales. For the small portion that still use them, the company has invested resources and mobilized a team to address this challenge with a three-pronged strategy:
- Remove colors when they are not essential to the consumer experience
- Replace them with natural colors
- Create new colors and shades when there are no equivalent natural alternatives
“As a food company with over 150 years of history, we are constantly evolving our recipes, products and portfolio to deliver excellence to consumers and customers,” said Pedro Navio, president of Kraft Heinz North America.
Although FD&C colors have long been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Kraft Heinz uses them in few products. As part of the process, the company is also encouraging its brand licensees to eliminate these ingredients.
“The vast majority of our products already use natural colors or no colors at all, and we have made progress in eliminating FD&C from the rest of our portfolio. In fact, we removed artificial colors, preservatives and flavors from our iconic Kraft Mac & Cheese back in 2016. Our famous Heinz ketchup has never had artificial colors; the red color comes simply from the best tomatoes in the world,” added Navio.
Image: Shutterstock
*This text was translated by AI
