Nestle and Conagra join companies dropping synthetic food dyes amid pressure

Nestle said it would stop using FD&C colours in products. Photo / Getty Images

Nestle USA and Conagra Brands are the latest food giants to say they’ll end the use of certain synthetic colours in food and drink products within the next year.

This comes amid a growing backlash against the use of artificial dyes in the United States and pressure from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy jnr.

In a statement, Nestle said it intends to “fully eliminate FD&C colours in its US food and beverage portfolio by mid-2026”.

The company said that it had been “actively removing synthetic colours from its products” over the past decade. “FD&C colours” are food, drug and cosmetic dyes, and refer to certain certified synthetic colour additives regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, such as Blue No. 1, Green No. 3 and Red No. 3.

Nestle said that more than 90% of its current products do not include synthetic dyes and that the move is “part of the company’s ongoing commitment to provide consumers with a range of high-quality, nutritious foods and beverages that reflect the diversity and choices that they want”.

Also, Conagra Brands, the company behind brands including Birds Eye, announced that it will stop using FD&C dyes in its frozen foods by the end of this year and that it is working to eliminate their use in all of its products by the end of 2027.

The decision by the two companies follows similar moves last week by Kraft Heinz and General Mills. Those moves were described as “long overdue” by Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, an organisation that promotes product safety.

There has been a growing political focus on the issue of artificial dyes, particularly from Kennedy, who has described the dyes as “poison”.

Kennedy, who previously founded an anti-vaccine group, has remained a controversial figure.

However, some of Kennedy’s food agenda has found support on both sides of the political spectrum, with nutrition experts and Democrats saying they agree on the need to change how Americans eat, the Washington Post has reported.

The health secretary praised the decision by Nestle USA and Conagra Brands and urged other companies “to step up and help us Make America Healthy Again” - as part of his agenda that aims to address chronic disease and childhood illness.

Earlier this year, the Trump Administration announced plans to phase out petroleum-based food dyes. However, the move caused confusion among food officials, who said there had not been an industry-wide commitment to excise the dyes by next year, the Washington Post reported.

Under the Biden Administration in January, the FDA announced a ban on the use of the controversial red dye No. 3 in food by mid-January 2027.

This came decades after its use was banned in cosmetics because of research linking its use to cancer in animals, although regulators maintained there was no evidence that ingesting the colouring causes cancer in humans.

Some studies have found an association between food dyes used in the US and hyperactivity and behavioural effects in children, the Washington Post has reported.

But some researchers question how conclusive the evidence is, arguing that it is difficult to isolate the effect of a single ingredient or additive due to the variety of foods people eat on a daily basis.

Several states have taken action on additives. In 2023, before the FDA ban, California passed a law prohibiting food containing red dye No. 3 from being sold in the state after January 1, 2027.

This week Texas Governor Greg Abbott (Republican) signed a first-of-its-kind legislation requiring the labelling of foods containing 44 dyes or additives commonly found in the country’s food supply.

And in March, West Virginia banned foods containing any of seven dyes from being served in school nutrition programmes starting in August and from being sold in the state by January 1, 2028.