The Hershey Company announced that it will remove artificial food dyes from its products by the end of 2027.
“There is a patchwork of state regulations emerging that is creating confusion and will ultimately increase consumer costs,” a Hershey spokesperson said, as reported by Bloomberg. “Removing these colors is a natural next step in our program to ensure consumers have options to fit their lifestyle while maintaining trust and confidence in our products.”
Hershey’s is the latest company to announce the shift reflective of the Trump administration’s efforts to “Make America Healthy Again.”
Last week, Nestlé announced that it would take steps to align its products with the MAHA initiative, pledging to remove all Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors. The eliminations are set to occur by mid-2026. Nestlé explained that it has already begun removing synthetic colors over the last decade and is working on solutions for products still using the ingredients.
Several other companies, including Tyson Foods, PepsiCo, General Mills, Kraft Heinz, and others, have also pledged to revisit their ingredient list.
In May, the FDA approved three new natural food dyes. The natural food dyes include Galdieria extract blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate. Galdieria is a color derived from the red algae Galdieria sulphuraria, to be used in beverages, coatings, and dessert products; butterfly pea flower extract is a blue color is to be used in beverages, dairy products, tea, potato chips, and snack mixes; and calcium phosphate is a white color to be used in chicken products, candy, and sugar coatings.
