Nestlé USA, Conagra & J.M. Smucker Join Industry Shift Away From Synthetic Coloring
Nestlé USA, Conagra Brands and J.M. Smucker are the latest consumer goods companies to announce plans to eliminate synthetic, additive food colors previously certified by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) from their portfolios.
The three CPG companies shared their goals after General Mills and Kraft Heinz unveiled similar synthetic dye deadlines earlier this month.
Earlier this year, Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would like to phase out synthetic dyes used to enhance color in foods such as candy and cereals. The FDA already banned red dye No. 3 in food and ingested drugs, and the agency said it would be working with the industry to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the U.S. food supply over the next several years.
Nestlé USA
Nestlé USA plans to eliminate synthetic colors from its U.S. food and beverage portfolio by mid-2026. The company said it has been actively removing synthetic colors from its products over the last decade.
Marty Thompson, CEO of Nestlé USA, said in a statement that the company is continuously looking for ways to meet consumers’ changing preferences, with a balance of nutrition, quality, price and convenience.
Also: L’Oreal is using generative AI to reformulate existing products
Conagra Brands
Conagra announced it would eliminate synthetic Food, Drug & Cosmetic colors (FD&C) by the end of the year within its U.S. frozen food offerings as part of its portfolio modernization strategy.
Additionally, Conagra will stop using FD&C colors within products sold to K-12 schools by the 2026-27 school year and from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027.
"Conagra Brands is known for innovating delicious, on-trend foods, and our transition away from FD&C colors is just one aspect of our broader strategy to modernize our portfolio to align with consumer preferences," Tom McGough, EVP and COO of Conagra, said in a statement.
J.M. Smucker
J.M. Smucker has set a deadline to remove FD&C colors by the end of 2027. The company said most of its consumer foods are already free of synthetic colors, but the continued removal will impact its sugar-free fruit spreads and ice cream toppings, along with certain Hostess products.
The majority of products it sells to K-12 schools do not contain any synthetic colors, but the company is working with its distribution partners to completely eliminate FD&C colors by the end of the 2026-27 school year.
"Our commitment to remove FD&C colors from our sugar-free fruit spreads, ice cream toppings and sweet baked goods products represents the latest example of our desire to evolve and our ability to continue to innovate to deliver on the expectations of our consumers,” CEO Mark Smucker said in a statement.
John Brase, president and COO, said teams are working on reformulation planning and evaluating supply chain considerations as they make further changes.
