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Food SafetyProduct Development & Manufacturing

Kraft Heinz Cuts FD&C Colors

Company has made 1,000+ recipe changes over the past five years.

KraftHeinzLogo.jpg

Following a thorough evaluation of potential strategic transactions, Kraft Heinz has determined that separating into two standalone companies, “Global Taste Elevation Co.” and “North American Grocery Co.”, offers the most compelling opportunity to unlock long-term value for all Kraft Heinz shareholders.

June 17, 2025


The Kraft Heinz Company today announced it will not launch any new products in the U.S. with Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors, effective immediately. The company also announced it will remove the remaining FD&C colors from its U.S. product portfolio before the end of 2027.

Nearly 90% of Kraft Heinz’s U.S. products are free of FD&C colors (by net sales), the company said. For the small portion of products that currently contain FD&C colors, the company is:

  • Removing colors where it is not critical to the consumer experience; or
  • Replacing FD&C colors with natural colors; or
  • Reinventing new colors and shades where matching natural replacements are not available.

“As a food company with a 150+ year heritage, we are continuously evolving our recipes, products, and portfolio to deliver superiority to consumers and customers,” said Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz. “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. In fact, we removed artificial colors, preservatives and flavors from our beloved Kraft Mac & Cheese back in 2016. Our iconic Heinz Tomato Ketchup has never had artificial dyes – the red color comes simply from the world’s best tomatoes. Above all, we are focused on providing nutritious, affordable and great-tasting food for Americans and this is a privilege we don’t take lightly.”

Given FD&C colors have a longstanding history of approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Kraft Heinz has used the colors in a small number of products. As part of this process, Kraft Heinz is also working with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove FD&C colors.

Kraft Heinz has made great progress innovating and renovating its products to improve their nutritional profiles in recent years. The company has made changes to more than 1,000 product recipes to add protein and fiber, and reduce sugar, salt and saturated fat. Through these changes, Kraft Heinz is on track to reduce nearly 55 million pounds of sugar across its portfolio by the end of 2025.

About The Kraft Heinz Company
We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company (, inspired by our Purpose, Let’s Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything we do. With 2024 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of eight consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we’re dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways.

KEYWORDS: colorants FDA regulations Kraft Heinz macaroni and cheese

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