NESTLE WILL REMOVE ARTIFICIAL COLOR FOODS AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

Latest on Nestlé's Artificial Color Removal

1. Official Commitment - Nestlé USA

Target: Fully eliminate synthetic food colors/FD&C dyes from U.S. food & beverage portfolio by mid-2026

Current status: As of June 2025, Nestlé said >90% of U.S. categories already don't contain synthetic colors

July 2026 update: Nestlé USA CEO Marty Thompson said they "have fully eliminated them" ahead of schedule . 

2. What They're Changing

Products reformulated: Nesquik strawberry flavor switched to natural colors

Foodservice: 20+ Nestlé Vitality beverage products moved to natural colors in 5 months

Still had dyes: Nesquik Banana Strawberry milk used Red 3 as of 2025 . 

3. Why Now

RFK Jr. / FDA push: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans in April 2025 to eliminate synthetic dyes by end of 2026, relying on voluntary industry action

State laws: California & West Virginia banned artificial dyes in school foods. Texas will require warning labels by 2027

Consumer demand: ∼2/3 of Americans favor removing dyes/sugar from processed foods

Red 3 ban: FDA banned Red 3 from food supply in Jan 2025 due to cancer risk

4. Other Companies Doing Same

General Mills: Remove dyes from U.S. cereals + K-12 school foods by mid-2026

Kraft Heinz: Stop new products with artificial colors, eliminate from existing by end of 2027

Conagra: Remove from U.S. frozen products by end of 2025, K-12 schools by 2026-2027.

Important Notes

U.S. only: This pledge covers Nestlé USA products. Not confirmed globally

Colors only: This is about artificial/synthetic food dyes - Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1, etc. Not all "artificial foods" or flavors

Previous promise: Nestlé pledged to remove artificial flavors + colors by end of 2015, but "the promise didn't hold" 

So if you're in the U.S., Nestlé products should be free of synthetic dyes by mid-2026, and Nestlé says they've actually finished already as of July 2026 .