The Michigan-based WK Kellogg company vowed Thursday to remove artificial coloring from its cereals by the end of 2026, the decision coming as President Donald Trump’s administration has been working to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).
Kellogg initially announced in August 2025 the change would happen by the end of 2027, so that meant the removal is happening on an accelerated timeline, the Associated Press (AP) reported Friday.
The company said in a press release it will be moving toward only using natural colors from natural sources for its cereals, noting it will cut artificial colors and the preservative butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT).
“Production of cereals with the new recipes, including Kellogg’s Froot Loops and Kellogg’s Apple Jacks, will begin later this year, with food shipping to retailers before year-end,” the company noting, adding it will be using fruit and vegetable juices and plant-based ingredients.
“WK Kellogg has made a significant investment in its manufacturing facilities to support the transition to natural colors at scale, while maintaining the same great taste and quality that consumers expect and deserve,” Kellogg stated:
“More and more consumers are looking for foods made with simple, recognizable ingredients and we are proud to meet those expectations, even sooner than planned,” said Doug VanDeVelde, Chief Growth Officer, WK Kellogg Co. “We conducted extensive consumer testing to make sure these recipes deliver the great taste consumers want while maintaining the original rainbow of colors — red, orange, yellow, green, purple and blue — that fans of Froot Loops and other colorful cereals have come to love. It wasn’t easy but we identified natural solutions for every color and we’re confident families will love the updated recipes and simplified ingredients without compromising on quality or taste.”
In March of 2025, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told food companies he wanted artificial dyes removed from their products. A few months later in July, he announced that nearly 35 percent of the U.S. food industry had committed to removing those dyes from its products, Breitbart News reported.
The AP report noted that “Kellogg has faced pressure for years to remove artificial ingredients from its cereals, which it has already done in other countries like Canada. In 2024, dozens of people rallied outside Kellogg’s headquarters and delivered petitions with 400,000 signatures asking the company to remove artificial dyes and BHT.”
