PepsiCo is accelerating its transition away from artificial colors, following Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary’s announcement that particular food dyes are to be banned.
PepsiCo Inc. Chair and CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a conference last week that the company has been “leading the transformation of the industry now for a long time on sodium reduction, sugar reduction and better fats.”
“When we talk about the U.S. food business, 60%-plus of our (portfolio) today doesn’t have any artificial colors, so we’re undergoing that transition,” he said, as per Food Business News. “For example, brands like Lay’s will be out of artificial colors by the end of this year, and the same with Tostitos — some of our big brands. So we’re well underway.”
“We obviously stand by the science,” Laguarta added. “Our products are very safe, and there’s nothing to worry about. But we understand that there’s probably going to be a consumer demand for more natural ingredients, and we’re going to be accelerating that transition. Ideally, we can do this in a very pragmatic, orchestrated way as an industry and not create unnecessary panic or chaos.”
“But we’ll lead that transition, and in the next couple of years, we’ll have migrated all the portfolio into natural colors or at least provide the consumer with natural color options,” he continued. “And every consumer will have the opportunity to choose what they prefer. So that’s the journey we’re undergoing.”
Consumer Brands Association released a statement on the ban of food dyes, claiming the ingredient in the nation’s food supply have been “rigorously studied following an objective science and risk-based evaluation process and have been demonstrated to be safe.”
“Consumer Brands has long asked HHS and FDA to reestablish themselves as the country’s leading regulatory authority and we appreciate that the administration has reasserted their leadership in response to the myriad of state activity in the food regulation space,” the statement added.
