General Mills to Ditch Use of Artificial Colors in U.S. Cereals, School Foods
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General Mills announced on Tuesday that it will be working to remove artificial colors from all of its cereals in the United States, as well as from foods in K-12 schools.
In a press release, General Mills explained that the company is planning to remove artificial colors from “all its U.S. cereals and all K-12 school foods” by the summer of 2026, and by the end of 2027, artificial colors will be removed “from its full U.S. retail portfolio.”
“Across the long arc of our history, General Mills has moved quickly to meet evolving consumer needs, and reformulating our product portfolio to remove certified colors is yet another example,” Jeff Harmening, the CEO and chairman of General Mills, said in a statement.
Harmening continued to point out that “the vast majority” of the company’s foods are made “without certified colors.”
“Knowing the trust families place in us, we are leading the way on removing certified colors in cereals and K-12 foods by next summer,” Harmening added. “We’re committed to continuing to make food that tastes great and is accessible to all.”
The announcement from General Mills comes the same day that Kraft Heinz announced that the company would no longer be launching “new products with artificial dyes,” or Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors. Kraft Heinz also announced that it would be ending the usage of artificial dyes in its products by the end of 2027.
The move from General Mills to remove artificial colors from their U.S. products and school foods comes after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told food companies in March that he wants artificial dyes to be removed from their products.
Breitbart News reported:
Kennedy has pledged to tackle chronic illnesses by overhauling the U.S. diet and food dye elimination is part of his plan for reform.
He has encouraged fast-food chains to switch to beef tallow instead of seed oils for French fries, and pushed for bans on additives like food colors, as Breitbart News reported.
In April, Kennedy and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary announced that “petroleum-based food dyes” would be removed from the U.S. food supply and medicines.
The FDA also announced that it would work with the food industry to remove synthetic dyes such as FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2 from the U.S. food supply “by the end of next year.”
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