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.
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