Kraft Heinz pulling artificial dyes from its US products in 2027
Kraft Heinz will be pulling artificial dyes from its U.S. products starting in 2027 and will no longer roll out new products with the dyes.
The move comes nearly two months after US health officials said that they would urge foodmakers to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors in the nation's food supply.
Kraft Heinz said Tuesday that almost 90 per cent of its US products already don't contain food, drug & cosmetic colors, but that the products that do still use the dyes will have them removed by the end of 2027. FD&C colors are synthetic additives that are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in food, drugs and cosmetics.
Kraft Heinz said that many of its US products that still use the FD&C colors are in its beverage and desserts categories, including certain products sold under brands including Crystal Light, Kool Aid, Jell-O and Jet Puffed.
The company said that it will instead use natural colors for the products.
"The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors, and we've been on a journey to reduce our use of FD&C colors across the remainder of our portfolio," Pedro Navio, North America President at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement.
Kraft Heinz stripped artificial colors, flavors and preservatives from its macaroni and cheese in 2016 and said it has never used artificial dyes in its ketchup.
The company plans to work with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove the dyes.
In April Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference that the agency would take steps to eliminate the synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, largely by relying on voluntary efforts from the food industry.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children. The FDA has maintained that the approved dyes are safe and that "the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives."
The FDA currently allows 36 food color additives, including eight synthetic dyes. In January, the agency announced that the dye known as Red 3 - used in candies, cakes and some medications - would be banned in food by 2027 because it caused cancer in laboratory rats.
Artificial dyes are used widely in US foods. In Canada and in Europe - where synthetic colors are required to carry warning labels - manufacturers mostly use natural substitutes. Several states, including California and West Virginia, have passed laws restricting the use of artificial colors in foods.
Many US food companies are already reformulating their foods, according to Sensient Colors, one of the world's largest producers of food dyes and flavorings. In place of synthetic dyes, foodmakers can use natural hues made from beets, algae and crushed insects and pigments from purple sweet potatoes, radishes and red cabbage.>
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
a day ago
- The Hindu
Watch: Rare blood types, twice-a-year HIV prevention, and rising maternal health risks
In this edition of The Health Wrap by The Hindu, hosts Zubeda Hamid and Dr. N. Ramkrishnan unpack the week's biggest health developments—from the discovery of a new blood group named 'Gwada negative', to a twice-a-year HIV prevention shot approved by the U.S. FDA. The episode also covers India's maternal and newborn health challenges, including heat-linked pregnancy risks and the generational impact of domestic violence. Plus, explore advances in cancer, brain and spine care, cataract awareness, and new genomic tools for outbreak detection. Tune in for the expert take and a roundup of key explainers that you shouldn't miss. Coordinator: Athira Elssa Johnson Presentation: Ramya Kannan and Zubeda Hamid Editing: Shivaraj S Video: Shivaraj S and Thamodharan B
Economic Times
2 days ago
- Economic Times
FDA issues new heart risk warnings for Pfizer, Moderna COVID vaccines - should you be worried?
What's Behind the FDA's New Warning? Who Faces the Highest Risk? Live Events What's Changing in the Vaccine Labels? What's the FDA Doing Next? FAQs (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that COVID-19 vaccines, which are manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, have the potential for cardiac risks, as per a warnings were first proposed in letters, which were sent to both companies in April, providing additional information about the potential risks of myocarditis and/or pericarditis associated with the two vaccines, as reported by the Cardiovascular Business report. Myocarditis and pericarditis have the possibility of leading to long-term heart damage, according to the READ: Meet Trapit Bansal, Meta's new AI superintelligence team hire - Is Meta poaching top talent from OpenAI? FDA's latest update covers Pfizer's Comirnaty vaccine and Moderna's Spikevax vaccine, while both companies had mentioned text about myocarditis and pericarditis in the labelling for these vaccines since 2021, but the FDA wanted more information added to these warnings that specifically mentions the increased risks for young men, as per the Cardiovascular Business READ: After Canada, now US: College graduates face the toughest job market in decades – what's gone wrong? According to the Cardiovascular Business report, the new labeling for both the vaccines is now required to include the following text, as per FDA's latest update:"Based on analyses of commercial health insurance claims data from inpatient and outpatient settings, the estimated unadjusted incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis during the period 1 through 7 days following administration of the 2023-2024 Formula of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was approximately 8 cases per million doses in individuals 6 months through 64 years of age and approximately 27 cases per million doses in males 12 through 24 years of age," as quoted in the label should also include, "Follow-up information on cardiovascular outcomes in hospitalized patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis is available from a longitudinal retrospective observational study. Most of these patients had received a two-dose primary series of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine prior to their diagnosis. In this study, at a median follow-up of approximately 5 months post-vaccination, persistence of abnormal cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) findings that are a marker for myocardial injury was common. The clinical and prognostic significance of these CMR findings is not known," as quoted by the Cardiovascular Business READ: Top economist warns: US faces a crisis worse than recession — here's what could be coming While, FDA has also emphasised that it plans to keep tracking the safety of COVID-19 vaccines from now on, as per the agency said, 'Continuous monitoring and assessment of the safety of all vaccines, including the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, is an FDA priority and we remain committed to informing the public when we learn new information about these vaccines,' adding, 'In addition, as part of the approvals of Comirnaty and Spikevax, each manufacturer is required by FDA to conduct a study to assess if there are long-term heart effects in people who have had myocarditis after receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. These studies are underway,' quoted by the Cardiovascular Business FDA wants the public to have clearer information about rare heart-related risks linked to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, especially for young men, as per the Cardiovascular Business the FDA continues to support their use, but these warnings are about rare side effects, as per the Cardiovascular Business report.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
FDA issues new heart risk warnings for Pfizer, Moderna COVID vaccines - should you be worried?
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned that COVID-19 vaccines, which are manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna, have the potential for cardiac risks, as per a report. What's Behind the FDA's New Warning? These warnings were first proposed in letters, which were sent to both companies in April, providing additional information about the potential risks of myocarditis and/or pericarditis associated with the two vaccines, as reported by the Cardiovascular Business report. Myocarditis and pericarditis have the possibility of leading to long-term heart damage, according to the report. ALSO READ: Meet Trapit Bansal, Meta's new AI superintelligence team hire - Is Meta poaching top talent from OpenAI? by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo Who Faces the Highest Risk? FDA's latest update covers Pfizer's Comirnaty vaccine and Moderna's Spikevax vaccine, while both companies had mentioned text about myocarditis and pericarditis in the labelling for these vaccines since 2021, but the FDA wanted more information added to these warnings that specifically mentions the increased risks for young men, as per the Cardiovascular Business report. ALSO READ: After Canada, now US: College graduates face the toughest job market in decades – what's gone wrong? Live Events What's Changing in the Vaccine Labels? According to the Cardiovascular Business report, the new labeling for both the vaccines is now required to include the following text, as per FDA's latest update: "Based on analyses of commercial health insurance claims data from inpatient and outpatient settings, the estimated unadjusted incidence of myocarditis and/or pericarditis during the period 1 through 7 days following administration of the 2023-2024 Formula of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines was approximately 8 cases per million doses in individuals 6 months through 64 years of age and approximately 27 cases per million doses in males 12 through 24 years of age," as quoted in the report. The label should also include, "Follow-up information on cardiovascular outcomes in hospitalized patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis is available from a longitudinal retrospective observational study. Most of these patients had received a two-dose primary series of an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine prior to their diagnosis. In this study, at a median follow-up of approximately 5 months post-vaccination, persistence of abnormal cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) findings that are a marker for myocardial injury was common. The clinical and prognostic significance of these CMR findings is not known," as quoted by the Cardiovascular Business report. ALSO READ: Top economist warns: US faces a crisis worse than recession — here's what could be coming What's the FDA Doing Next? While, FDA has also emphasised that it plans to keep tracking the safety of COVID-19 vaccines from now on, as per the report. The agency said, 'Continuous monitoring and assessment of the safety of all vaccines, including the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, is an FDA priority and we remain committed to informing the public when we learn new information about these vaccines,' adding, 'In addition, as part of the approvals of Comirnaty and Spikevax, each manufacturer is required by FDA to conduct a study to assess if there are long-term heart effects in people who have had myocarditis after receiving an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. These studies are underway,' quoted by the Cardiovascular Business report. FAQs Why is the FDA updating warnings now? The FDA wants the public to have clearer information about rare heart-related risks linked to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, especially for young men, as per the Cardiovascular Business report. Are Moderna and Pfizer vaccines still considered safe? Yes, the FDA continues to support their use, but these warnings are about rare side effects, as per the Cardiovascular Business report.
