Popular Foods That Will No Longer Have Artificial Colors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is in a war against synthetic food dyes, led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Though there is no outright ban on most of the dyes yet, the FDA announced in April that it plans to phase them out by 2026.  

Major U.S. food manufacturers, some of which already comply with similar artificial food dye bans in some other countries, have seen the writing on the wall. Many have announced that they’re phasing out synthetic dyes in the coming years in an attempt to get ahead of any future laws — and perhaps stay in the good graces of the federal government. 

Here are the major food manufacturers that are phasing out food dyes, and some of the popular products that will be affected. 

Kraft Heinz announced that it will remove artificial dyes from all of its products by the end of 2027. It will also not introduce any new U.S. products with the dyes, according to a press release. The company will remove colors where it’s “not critical to the consumer experience,” replace the dyes with natural colors, or reinvent new colors.  

Some of the most popular Kraft Heinz products that still use artificial dyes: 

• Crystal Light 
• Kool-Aid 
• Jell-O  
• Jet Puffed  

Notably, the company says that it stripped artificial dyes from its popular boxed macaroni and cheese in 2016, and its iconic Heinz ketchup has never contained artificial dyes.  

General Mills will be removing artificial dyes from all U.S. cereals and K-12 products sold to schools by the summer of 2026, according to a press release. By the end of 2027, it plans to remove them from every U.S. product that it manufactures. Only a small percentage of items sold to schools contain artificial dyes currently, according to the company, and about 85% of General Mills total products are already made without them.  

Some of the most popular General Mills products that either don’t have artificial colors now or will not have them beyond 2027 include: 

• Cheerios 
• Pillsbury 
• Trix 
• Betty Crocker 
• Lucky Charms 

Conagra announced that it will remove all artificial dyes from its frozen food products by the end of this year. The company will also no longer offer products with colors for K-12 schools by the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year, according to a press release. By the end of 2027, it will no longer include artificial colors in any of its products sold in the U.S.  

Some of the popular brands that will be artificial dye free either by the end of this year (frozen) or 2027 include: 

• Marie Callender’s 
• Healthy Choice 
• Slim Jim 
• Duncan Hines 
• Snack Pack 

Nestlé will be removing artificial dyes from all of its products in the U.S., the company announced. It plans to stop using them by mid-2026, a more aggressive timeline than other large food manufacturers. According to a press release, “over 90%” of the company’s current products are already synthetic-dye free.  

Some of the popular brands that will be dye free next year or already are dye free include: 

• Stouffer’s 
• Lean Cuisine 
• DiGiorno 
• Hot Pockets 
• Nesquik 

PepsiCo, which owns a number of food brands beyond beverages, announced on a corporate earnings call in April that it will phase out artificial colors in all its U.S. food products. Though there was no timeline for a complete phase out given, brands from Lay’s and Tostitos will be dye-free by the end of this year. Currently, more than 60% of the company’s products are synthetic dye-free. 

Some of the brands that will eventually be dye free by the end of this year or later include: 

• Doritos 
• Cheetos 
• Mountain Dew 
• Ruffles 
• Gatorade 

Despite many large food manufacturers announcing their own self-imposed dye bans, there are some that aren’t so quick to make big changes. That’s especially true for candy companies like Mars, which makes both M&M’s and Skittles, two iconic candies that are known for their bright colors. They claim that American candy consumers want bright colors, and that banning artificial dyes will drive up the price of natural dyes. So until the federal government (or more states) bans artificial dyes altogether, confectioners will probably resist the change.