Mars, the maker of M&M’s, is planning to launch dye-free candy in August after pressure to join the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement.
“It was a daunting situation,” Anton Vincent, president of Mars’ snacking division for North America, told The Wall Street Journal. “You’re messing with an 85-year-old icon.”
Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) celebrated the move on X. “Great to see another household name coming to the MAHA table — especially one with roots here in Kansas,” he wrote. “I appreciated the opportunity to discuss healthy product changes when I toured the Topeka facility last summer.”
The dye-free candies are expected to be sold through Amazon.
Last year, Mars pushed back on the MAHA agenda, saying it did not have effective solutions for eliminating synthetic dyes.
“We are aware of the administration’s request and our technical experts are exploring alternatives that satisfy scientific safety criteria, technical requirements and consumer preferences,” a company spokesperson told Fox Business. “At this time, we have not yet identified fully effective solutions and believe it is premature to make commitments until we are certain they can be fulfilled. We will continue our efforts and anticipate being able to offer consumers more choice in the near future. Meanwhile, it is important to underline that all of our products continue to be safe to enjoy and meet the high standards and applicable regulations set by food safety authorities.”
The FDA has approved the use of several plants to replace dyes, such as beetroot red, spirulina, gardenia (genipin) blue, galdieria extract blue, butterfly pea flower extract, and calcium phosphate.
