Kraft Heinz moves to eliminate artificial colors from all products by 2027
Already, nearly 90 per cent of Kraft Heinz’s U.S. products are free of FD&C colors, by net sales
USA – The Kraft Heinz Company has announced that, effective immediately, it will not launch any new products in the U.S. with Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors, and will remove all remaining FD&C colors from its U.S. product portfolio before the end of 2027.
Already, nearly 90 per cent of Kraft Heinz’s U.S. products are free of FD&C colors (by Net Sales). For the small portion of products that currently contain FD&C colors, the Company has invested significant resources, mobilizing a team to address this complex challenge using a focused three-pronged approach (3Rs).
This approach involves either removing colors where it is not critical to the consumer experience, replacing FD&C colors with natural colors, or reinventing new colors and shades where matching natural replacements are not available.
Many of its U.S. products that still use FD&C colors are found in its beverages and desserts categories, including certain items sold under iconic brands such as Crystal Light, Kool-Aid, Jell-O, and Jet-Puffed, which Kraft Heinz is investing heavily in R&D and innovation to support this shift.
“As a food company with a 150+ year heritage, we are continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers,” said Pedro Navio, North America President at Kraft Heinz. “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.”
He explained that the company removed artificial colours, preservatives, and flavors from its Kraft Mac & Cheese back in 2016, whereas the iconic Heinz Tomato Ketchup has never had artificial dyes and the red color comes simply from the world’s best tomatoes.
“Above all, we are focused on providing nutritious, affordable, and great-tasting food for Americans, and this is a privilege we don’t take lightly,” Pedro Navio emphasized.
While FD&C colors have long been permitted by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, recent regulatory momentum has placed artificial food dyes under greater scrutiny.
Kraft Heinz’s decision aligns with the FDA’s recent move to ban FD&C Red No. 3 in foods and dietary supplements, and its broader effort to phase out other petroleum-based synthetic colors due to growing health concerns.
As part of this transition, the company is also working with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove FD&C colors across all product lines.
Ongoing Commitment to Quality & Nutrition
Showcasing its ongoing commitment to using high-quality and nutritious ingredients, Kraft Heinz places a special focus on the source. Farming.
From soil to table, every product reflects the care, expertise, and responsibility the company brings to nourishing people worldwide.
Today, Kraft Heinz sources the most tomatoes in the U.S., all grown in California for products like Heinz Tomato Ketchup. Claussen pickles (cucumbers) are grown in Ohio and Michigan; Ore-Ida potatoes are grown in Idaho; the dairy for Philadelphia cream cheese comes from farms in Upstate New York.
All are part of the company’s mission to create high-quality, great-tasting food that is both affordable and accessible to everyone.
Kraft Heinz has made significant progress innovating and renovating its products to improve their nutritional profiles over the past years. The Company has made changes to more than 1,000 product recipes to add protein and fiber, and reduce sugar, salt, and saturated fat.
Through these changes, Kraft Heinz is on track to reduce nearly 55 million pounds of sugar across its portfolio by the end of this year.
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