Duncan Hines parent Conagra Brands says it will phase out artificial colors
Conagra Brands, the parent company of Duncan Hines, Slim Jim and other brands, is the latest big food company to say it's discontinuing the use of artificial dyes.
In a statement released Wednesday – the same day as a similar statement from Nestle – Chicago-based Conagra said it will remove artificial colors from its frozen foods by the end of this year. Conagra's frozen brands include Marie Callender's, Healthy Choice and Birds Eye.
Conagra said it won't offer products containing artificial colors to K-12 schools by the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year, and it will work to discontinue artificial dyes across its entire portfolio by the end of 2027.
Kraft Heinz and General Mills made similar pledges earlier this month.
The federal government has stepped up its scrutiny of artificial colors in recent months. In January, days before President Donald Trump took office, the U.S. regulators banned the dye called Red 3 from the nation's food supply, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.
In April, Trump's Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency would take steps to eliminate synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, largely by relying on voluntary efforts from the food industry.
Many of Conagra's products already make a point of using natural dyes. On a jar of Vlasic kosher pickle spears, Conagra notes that they're colored with turmeric, not the synthetic Yellow 5. For the cheesy color in its frozen vegetable sides or its Orville Redenbacher popcorn, Conagra uses annatto, a plant extract.
But some of Conagra's products still rely on synthetic colors. Duncan Hines' Comstock County Cherry pie filling uses Red 40, for example, while its Creamy Strawberries n' Cream Frosting uses both Red 40 and Yellow 5. Conagra's Swiss Miss Butterscotch pudding contains Yellow 6, Red 40 and Blue 1.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Health Secretary calls on supermarkets to tackle obesity
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the government will work with major supermarkets to make healthy food choices easier for consumers. He outlines plans to reduce calorie intake across the population, tackling rising obesity and easing pressure on the NHS without the need for additional taxes. .
Fox News
29 minutes ago
- Fox News
Woman plans trip to Europe as boyfriend's 'dying mother' battles cancer: 'Might be faking'
A personal drama has gone viral online as a young woman reached out to others for help in navigating her sticky travel situation. After a great deal of back and forth, she said she's now "refusing to help my boyfriend's dying mother while planning a trip to Europe" — and wondered what others thought. Fox News Digital reached out to a clinical psychologist for insight as people on Reddit weighed in on the drama. Describing herself as 25 years old, the woman said she lives with her boyfriend — and about a month ago, his mom "began claiming she's dying of cancer, but no diagnosis has been confirmed. Every hospital visit ends with her being sent home. A nurse even [said] she might be faking," the woman wrote. The mother asked to "stay one night" at the couple's small apartment, which "turned into a week of chaos," said the young woman. "The apartment smelled awful, everything had to be dark and silent, and she constantly demanded help," the woman wrote. Then the mother "suggested we move in with her, an hour from our jobs/school." The young woman said she's a full-time student currently holding two jobs, and she began "falling behind." Her boyfriend changed his full-time job to a fully remote position so he could care for his mother, the young woman added. The health updates "were always shifting," however, she said. "MRI, canceled surgery, then chemo postponed due to infection, then E. coli. Always a new reason. No clear diagnosis or paperwork," she continued. The young woman then described a scenario in which "we were supposed to take her to the ER … but we ended up staying 16 hours [at the mother's home] doing chores. I folded 420 clothing items, cleaned the whole house, and felt like her unpaid maid. Not a single please or thank you." She went on, "She was stalling to go to the ER, and when we finally got there at 5 a.m., she said she'd check herself in and sent us home. Three hours later, she called again, sobbing for help. She had been rejected by the ER." Wrote the woman, "I suspect she faked it." The young woman said she and her boyfriend had been "skipping meals, losing sleep and falling behind at work to help her." "If it were your mom, would you help her?" To further complicate things, the mother's boyfriend, an apparent alcoholic, began sending the young couple "aggressive texts" — then "later apologized," according to the thread. The mother then "called again begging for help. But this time, she wanted me … I needed that weekend to study for final exams. And going to that house alone seemed sketchy." The young woman said she's now planning a "Europe trip to see my mom, whom I haven't seen in over a year." While the boyfriend said he supports her trip of several weeks, he also told her she was being "a little selfish," the woman wrote. The boyfriend apparently asked her, "If I were dying, would you quit your job to be with me?" and "If it were your mom, would you help her?" The woman said she "felt pressured to say yes. But truth is, my family wouldn't lie to me or use me like this." The woman concluded that she "loves" her boyfriend and wants "to be there for him. But I don't trust his mom, and this is starting to affect our relationship." She then wondered if she was wrong for "going home to Europe." Some 5,000 people have reacted to the personal situation to date — with the vast majority siding with the stressed young woman. "Why is his family more important than yours?" Wrote a top commenter, "I know you love your boyfriend, but you need to ask yourself if you're willing to give up your own life for him and his mom, because it's never going to stop. It could stop if he chooses to set boundaries, but it doesn't sound like he'll do that." Wrote another person, "Break up. Move out. Go on vacation. Stop dealing with crazy mom and [boyfriend]." Said yet another individual, "Why is his family more important than yours? I would tell him that he should move her to assisted living or an apartment and hire help. Let him know that while you love him, you are not lighting your future on fire to help someone who won't help themselves." And yet another person wrote, "Stay in Europe would be my advice." The person added, "Sounds exhausting."
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
RFK Jr.'s made promises about vaccines. Here's what he's done as health secretary
During his Senate confirmation hearings, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested he wouldn't undermine vaccines. 'I am not going to go into HHS and impose my preordained opinions on anybody at HHS," he said. "I'm going to empower the scientists at HHS to do their job and make sure that we have good science that is evidence based.' He also said he wouldn't halt congressionally mandated funding for vaccination programs, nor impose conditions that would force local, state or global entities to limit access to vaccines or vaccine promotion. 'I'm not going to substitute my judgment for science,' he said. Yet the Department of Health and Human Services under Kennedy has taken unprecedented steps to change how vaccines are evaluated, approved and recommended — sometimes in ways that run counter to established scientific consensus. Here's a look at what Kennedy has said and done since becoming the nation's top health official on Feb. 13. Kennedy and the childhood vaccine schedule Sen. Bill Cassidy, a physician who was unsettled about Kennedy's antivaccine work, said Kennedy pledged to him that he wouldn't change existing vaccine recommendations. "I recommend that children follow the CDC schedule. And I will support the CDC schedule when I get in there,' Kennedy said at his Senate confirmation hearing. Kennedy also said he thought the polio vaccine was safe and effective and that he wouldn't seek to reduce its availability. Feb. 18: Kennedy vows to investigate the childhood vaccine schedule that prevents measles, polio and other dangerous diseases. Early March: The National Institutes of Health cancels studies about ways to improve vaccine trust and access. April 9: Kennedy tells CBS News that 'people should get the measles vaccine, but the government should not be mandating those,' before then continuing to raise safety concerns about vaccines. May 22: Kennedy issues a report that, among other things, questioned the necessity of mandates that require children to get vaccinated for school admission and suggested that vaccines should undergo more clinical trials, including with placebos. The report has to be reissued later because the initial version cited studies that don't exist. May 30: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removes COVID-19 vaccination guidance for pregnant women and says healthy children 'may' get the shots. June 25: A group of vaccine advisers picked by Kennedy announce they are establishing a work group to evaluate the 'cumulative effect' of the children's vaccine schedule. June 25: Kennedy announces the U.S. will stop supporting the vaccines alliance Gavi. He accuses the group, along with the World Health Organization, of silencing 'dissenting views' and 'legitimate questions' about vaccine safety. Kennedy on revising CDC vaccine recommendations At the confirmation hearing, Cassidy asked Kennedy: "Do you commit that you will revise any CDC recommendations only based on peer review, consensus based, widely accepted science?" Kennedy replied, 'Absolutely,' adding he would rely on evidence-based science. Feb. 20: HHS postpones a meeting of outside vaccine advisers. April 16: The CDC's vaccine advisory panel meets and recommends that people 50 to 59 with certain risk factors should be able to get vaccinated against respiratory syncytial virus, and endorses a new shot that protects against meningococcal bacteria. As of late June, the CDC and HHS haven't acted on the recommendations. May 27: Kennedy announces that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women — a move immediately questioned by several public health experts. No one from the CDC, the agency that makes such recommendations, is present in the video announcing the changes. June 9: Kennedy ousts all 17 members of the science panel that advises the CDC on how vaccines should be used. June 11: Kennedy names new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he dismissed. They include a scientist who rose to prominence by relaying conspiracy theories around the COVID-19 pandemic and the vaccines that followed, a leading critic of pandemic-era lockdowns, a business school professor, and a nurse affiliated with a group that is widely considered to be a leading source of vaccine misinformation. June 26: Kennedy's vaccine advisers recommend that people receive flu shots free of an ingredient that antivaccine groups have falsely tied to autism. The vote comes after a presentation from an antivaccine group's former leader. A CDC staff analysis of past research on the topic is removed from the agency's website because, according to a committee member, the report hadn't been authorized by Kennedy's office. Kennedy on vaccine approvals and review standards At the Senate hearing, Cassidy asked Kennedy if he would keep FDA's historically rigorous vaccine review standards. 'Yes,' Kennedy replied. March 29: Kennedy forces the FDA's top vaccine official to resign. The official, Peter Marks, says he feared Kennedy's team might manipulate or delete data from a vaccine safety database. May 6: Kennedy names Dr. Vinay Prasad, an outspoken critic of the FDA's handling of COVID-19 boosters, as the FDA's vaccine chief. May 16: After a delay, the FDA grants Novavax full approval for its COVID-19 vaccine but with unusual restrictions: The agency says it's for use only in adults 65 and older – or those 12 to 64 who have at least one health problem that puts them at increased risk from COVID-19. May 20: Top officials limit the approval for seasonal COVID-19 shots to seniors and others at high risk, pending more data on everyone else. The FDA urges companies to conduct large, lengthy studies before tweaked vaccines can be approved for healthier people, a stark break from the previous federal policy recommending an annual COVID-19 shot for all Americans six months and older. May 30: FDA approves a new COVID-19 vaccine made by Moderna but with the same limits on who can get it as Novavax's shot. Kennedy on bird flu vaccine At his confirmation hearing, Kennedy said he would support the development of a vaccine for H5N1 bird flu. "I'm going to continue research on every kind of vaccine,' he said. May 28: The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, an HHS agency, cancels $766 million in awards to Moderna to develop a vaccine against potential pandemic influenza viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu. ___ The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
