Utz Brands has promised to remove FD&C colors from its portfolio of snacks “by the end of 2027.” That’s progress, although it will be a year or so later than everybody else.
Health & Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy in April pressured food & beverage processors to eliminate Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5 & 6 and Blue 1 & 2 by the end of 2026. Red 3, the last of the seven FD&C colors, already is banned as of Jan. 15, 2027.
At least 15 major food processors have pledged to make that Dec. 31, 2026, deadline or be ahead of it. The list includes Conagra, Danone, General Mills, Grupo Bimbo, Hershey, J.M. Smucker, Kellanova, Kraft Heinz, McCormick, Nestle, PepsiCo, PIM Brands, Tyson, Walmart and WK Kellogg.
“Today, 80% of our product portfolio does not contain FD&C colors, and several of our brands are completely free of them,” Utz’s Sept. 23 statement said. Some exceptions are Red Hot chips, which contain Red 40 and Yellow 6, and Cheese Balls, which contain Yellow 5 & 6. “We will eliminate all FD&C colors from our entire product portfolio by the end of 2027.”
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.