In April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from U.S. food and beverage products, as previously reported by ProFood World.
While the FDA didn’t officially ban the color additives, five big-name consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands—Kraft Heinz, J. M. Smucker Co., Conagra Brands, Nestlé USA, and General Mills—are now pledging to remove artificial dyes from their products.
Though these CPGs are pledging to eliminate Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors, most already report U.S. portfolios that are largely free of the synthetic dyes.
Kraft Heinz
Kraft Heinz was the first of the food giants to share its plans to remove all artificial dyes from products sold in the U.S. by the end of 2027.
For products containing FD&C colors, Kraft Heinz will address the challenge by: removing colors where it isn’t crucial to the consumer experience, replacing synthetic dyes with natural colors, or reinventing new colors when natural replacements aren’t available. The company also said it will not release any new foods with artificial dyes.
General Mills
Other brands have also set 2027 as the benchmark for the removal of FD&C colors from products. General Mills said it will focus first on eliminating the dyes from all of its cereal and school products by summer 2026, and the remaining lines by the end of 2027.
Despite focusing on school products first, General Mills says “nearly all” of its school offerings are already made without certified colors. General Mills didn’t provide specifics as to how the synthetic colors will be eliminated from products.
J.M. Smucker Co.
J.M. Smucker Co. also confirmed plans to remove FD&C colors from all consumer food products by the end of 2027. The removal plan will impact sugar-free fruit spreads, ice cream toppings, and some products from its Hostess portfolio.
Similarly to General Mills, J.M. Smucker Co. says it will focus on school products first. The brand says a majority of its products for K-12 schools don’t contain any FD&C colors and by the 2026-2027 school year, the company will no longer sell any products with FD&C colors to schools.
J.M. Smuckers Co. does not provide details for how it will remove FD&C colors, or what alternatives may replace them.
Conagra Brands
Conagra Brands also announced plans to discontinue FD&C colors in K-12 schools by the 2026-2027 school year and in its whole U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027. However, the company is focusing its initial efforts on its frozen product portfolio, intending to have all frozen products FD&C free by the end of 2025.
Conagra Brands didn’t provide specifics on how it will remove FD&C colors, or what alternatives may replace them.
Nestlé USA
Nestlé USA will have a slightly accelerated timeline in comparison to the other CPG brands. The company says it has spent the last decade removing synthetic dyes from its portfolio and over 90% is currently FD&C color free. The brand says it will fully eliminate FD&C colors from its food and beverage portfolio by mid-2026.
Nestlé USA has shared few details on how it will achieve this, but says the brand is “working to identify alternative solutions” in recipes where synthetic colors are still used.
While the timelines are aligned, specifics on implementation remain scarce. Some brands may eliminate dyes altogether, while others are likely to rely on natural color replacements. The lack of clarity leaves questions about ingredient sourcing, formulation impacts, and consumer perception.
