In January, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned Red Dye No. 3 in food and ingested drugs. Then, in April, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked that food manufacturers remove eight petroleum-based food dyes from products by the end of 2026. Now, Kraft Heinz, the company behind Jell-O and Kool-Aid, said that it plans to remove all artificial dyes from all its US products by the end of 2027, according to the Wall Street Journal.
"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," Pedro Navio, Kraft Heinz's North American president, told the Wall Street Journal.
According to the company, about 90% of its US product sales don't use artificial dyes. Those that do include familiar brand names like Jell-O, Kool-Aid, Heinz relish, Jet-Puffed products and Crystal Light. For those items, it will either remove the artificial dyes if the color is not critical to the product, replace them with natural food colors (which may be a different color), or reinvent certain colors.
How to avoid artificial food dyes in your food
Healthline reports that there is no conclusive evidence that food dyes pose a risk for most people. However, more research is needed. In the meantime, if artificial food dyes are something you want to avoid, here are steps you can take to remove them from your kitchen:
Read the labels: Not sure if a certain food product contains artificial dyes? The quickest way to find out is by reading the label to see if any dyes are listed. Three of the most common are Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5 and Yellow Dye No. 6.
Reduce packaged food: Packaged foods are typically ultraprocessed, which means that they are primarily made from substances -- like fats, added sugars and starches -- that are extracted from foods, according to Harvard Health Publishing. They are also more likely to contain artificial dyes.
Embrace a balanced diet: As you reduce packaged foods, add in foods like colorful veggies and fruits, whole grains, protein and healthy fats. And make sure you're drinking enough water.