Artificial colors used in food products have become a red flag for health-conscious consumers, and major food manufacturers are taking note. The United States has lagged behind Europe in initiatives to replace them with naturally sourced colors, but two major U.S.-based companies are taking steps to reformulate products across their portfolios.
News Drill Down
- FoodDive reports General Mills has been working for years developing natural colors made form fruits, vegetable and spice extracts to replace artificial ingredients in their vibrantly colored cereals. The company has updated seven cereals putting them at 75% of their 2017 goal.
- Food Navigator notes that the United States is trailing behind Europe, where “many food and drink manufacturers – including Mars- have already voluntarily phased out most artificial colors from their products.” One example: M&M’s are free of artificial colors in Europe, but not so in the United States.
- According to Smithsonian.com Mars has announced that it’s ditching all artificial colors form all of its human food products over the next five years as “part of a commitment to meet evolving consumer preferences.”
- Trix are for kids, but artificial food coloring is not. Trix cereal’s blue and green crispies will be absent the the new iteration of Trix cereal since General Mills was unable to reformulate with suitable natural color alternatives, according to the Huffington Post.
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FoodDive.com: General Mills:75% of cereals free of artificial colors, flavors
Food Navigator: Mars to ditch all artificial colors from its entire global food portfolio
Smithsonion: This Company Just Ditched Artificial Food Dyes
Huffington Post: Artificial Colors Being Removed From M&Ms, Skittles, Starburst And More
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