Two days after federal officials took action against synthetic dyes in food and beverages, PepsiCo Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ramon Laguarta said his company will remove artificial ingredients from popular foods this year.
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“We’ve been leading the transformation of the industry now for a long time on sodium reduction, sugar reduction and better fats,” Laguarta said in an April 24 conference call with analysts on PepsiCo’s fiscal 2025 first-quarter results. The company produces Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods as part of PepsiCo Foods North America.
“When we talk about the US food business, 60%-plus of our (portfolio) today doesn’t have any artificial colors, so we’re undergoing that transition,” he said. “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.”
At an April 22 news conference, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and Marty Makary, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, called for eliminating artificial dyes from our foods.
We will be aligned with Canada and Europe. If they can use beet juice instead of Red Dye No. 40, so can the US.
In addition to Red dye No. 40, Green No. 3, Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and No. 6, and Blue No. 1 and No. 2 must be gone by the end of 2026.
In January, the FDA had ordered that Red No. 3 be removed from US foods and beverages by 2027, but that deadline might be met sooner. The FDA also aims to revoke authorization for Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B, as well as expedite reviews of calcium phosphate, Galdieria extract blue, gardenia blue, and butterfly pea flower extract as natural alternatives to food colorings.
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