The food dye ban proposed by Trump’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ campaign (headed up by RFK, Jr.) has shaken things up in the food and beverage manufacturing world.
With a plan to ban artificial food dyes by the end of 2026, several companies have announced their pledge to remove these dyes under the FDA’s recommendation. Kraft Heinz is one of many brands throwing their hat into the artificial dye-free ring…
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Before we look at Kraft Heinz’s products and pledge about dyes, let’s take a quick look at the banned dye list.
The synthetic dyes that are planned to be phased out by the end of 2026 include:
- Citrus Red 2
- Orange B
- Red 3
- Red 40
- Yellow 5
- Yellow 6
- Blue 1
- Blue 2
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You probably recognize the “Kraft” part of Kraft Heinz from its famous macaroni and cheese, and the “Heinz” part from Heinz ketchup. Kraft Heinz owns many other brands as a company, including:
- Jell-O
- Kool-Aid
- Oscar Meyer
- Lunchables
- Crystal Light
- Cool Whip
- Jet Puffed
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While nearly 90% of Kraft Heinz’s products are already dye-free, it said in a statement that it plans to “remove the remaining FD&C colors from its U.S. product portfolio before the end of 2027.”
Kraft Heinz goes on to say that it has “invested significant resources, mobilizing a team to address this complex challenge” using a “three-pronged approach”…
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The “3Rs” of Kraft Heinz’s strategy to remove food dyes verbatim from its statement are:
- Removing colors where it is not critical to the consumer experience; or
- Replacing FD&C colors with natural colors; or
- Reinventing new colors and shades where matching natural replacements are not available.
In addition, Kraft Heinz won’t launch any new products with synthetic dyes effective immediately.
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If you ever made Kool-Aid as a kid, you probably remember the packets of colored powder you’d mix with sugar and water. Those colors come from none other than artificial dyes, and Kraft Heinz is pledging to change that within the next couple of years.
Here are some examples of dyes in Kool-Aid flavors…
Cherry Kool-Aid: Red 40
Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-Aid: Blue 1
Lemon Lime Kool-Aid: Yellow 5, Blue 1
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Kraft Heinz also makes Crystal Light, a sugar-free drink mix catered more towards adults than Kool-Aid. Crystal Light is also packed with synthetic food dyes. Here are just a couple of examples:
Crystal Light Lemonade: Yellow 5
Crystal Light Fruit Punch: Red 40, Blue 1
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Ahh, Jell-O. Whether you only ate it when you were sick, or you used it in desserts, you can’t forget the see-through, jiggly phenomenon that is Jell-O.
Jell-O is basically gelatin, food dye, and sugar, so food dye plays a big role in its formulation. Kraft Heinz has its work cut out for it through removing dyes here…
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There are dyes galore in Jell-O products, both the gelatin dessert and puddings. Here are just a few examples of banned dyes in Jell-O products:
Strawberry gelatin: Red 40
Pineapple gelatin: Yellow 5, Yellow 6
Lemon pudding: Yellow 5, Yellow 6
Pistachio pudding: Yellow 5, Blue 1, Yellow 6
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As Kraft Heinz said in its statement, it’ll be doing a complete overhaul of its remaining products that contain food dyes. A few examples of natural alternatives to these dyes include:
- Beet juice as a red dye alternative
- Spirulina as a blue dye alternative
- Turmeric as a yellow dye alternative
- Annatto as a red/orange dye alternative
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The good news is that the majority of Kraft Heinz products are already free of synthetic dyes. Its famous Heinz ketchup has never contained dyes, and Kraft macaroni and cheese has color added from natural sources, including paprika, turmeric, and annatto.
It looks like the majority of Kraft Heinz products containing dyes are Kool-Aid, Crystal Light, and Jell-O products, but there are also some stragglers from other brands like Jet Puffed (I’m looking at you, pink marshmallows).
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Kraft Heinz is taking the no-dye thing seriously, and many products as we’ve known them will soon change significantly.
Would you rather have natural dyes replace the synthetic dyes in Kraft Heinz’ products, or just have them skip the color altogether in products like Crystal Light and Jell-O gelatin? (I could get on board with colorless drinks!)
Let me know in the comments!
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it’ about time this is happening. Leave out the color . Not necessary to change to something else. thank you