Kraft Heinz, the maker of Jell-O, Kool-Aid, and bright orange boxed macaroni and cheese, announced Tuesday that it would remove all chemical dyes from its products by the end of 2027.
The company stated that, while 90 percent of its U.S. products measured by sales are already free of artificial dyes, it will not use any Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors in any new products moving forward.
The change comes after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April said that the Food and Drug Administration was working with the food industry to remove synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply as part of the Trump administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
Kraft Heinz said that for the small number of their products that still contain artificial colors, they plan to remove the dyes where they are not critical, replace them with natural colors, or, in instances where the color isn’t critical to the product, they would remove them entirely.
While many Kraft Heinz products will not be impacted, some that may see changes include Crystal Light, Heinz relish, Kool-Aid, Jell-O and Jet-Puffed, as they contain dyes like Red No. 40 and Blue No. 1.
Kraft Heinz made changes to its beloved mac and cheese in 2016, removing artificial colors, preservatives, and flavors from their recipe. In a press release announcing their latest initiative, the company also confirmed that its Heinz Tomato Ketchup has never contained artificial dyes, writing, “the red color comes simply from the world’s best tomatoes.”
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