Embracing MAHA, PepsiCo to Move Away From Artificial Dyes in Snack Foods

The Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda is moving forward after PepsiCo Inc., one of the nation’s largest producers of processed snack foods, announced this week it would be phasing out artificial dyes from many of its products by the end of the year.

In addition to its eponymously named cola soft drinks, PepsiCo produces many popular brands of snack foods and beverages, including Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos, Tostitos, Lay’s, Gatorade, and Mountain Dew, among others. 

“We’ve been leading the transformation of the industry now for a long time on sodium reduction, sugar reduction, and better fats,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said in a conference call on April 24.

“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,” Laguarta explained. “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.”

PepsiCo’s move comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced at an April 22 news conference that he would be taking action against petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the American food supply. 

Kennedy was joined by Dr. Martin Makary, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, which will be working to phase out six synthetic dyes in food by the end of 2026. They are Red No. 40, Green No. 3, Yellow Nos. 5 and No. 6, and Blue Nos. 1 and No. 2.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the director of the National Institutes of Health, was also present at the news conference, and Kennedy said the NIH will be assessing other food additives for a review of their safety as well. 

The move is an acceleration from a previous date set by the FDA in January that had required companies to remove Red No. 3 from products by 2027. 

The MAHA movement has also encouraged discussion over allowing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—the food stamp program—to be used for sugary products like candy and soft drinks, as well as other hyper-processed foods. Some 41 million Americans received SNAP benefits in 2024. 

PepsiCo leadership acknowledged the coming changes in the conference call. 

“In terms of SNAP, there is a lot of conversation in different states, and we’re seeing that some of our categories could be exposed to some restrictions,” Laguarta said. 

“I think this will have a very limited impact on the business, as we are calculating today. And we will need to see how the eventual legislation gets implemented. It’s still a lot of unknowns on how this is going to be happening,” the CEO said.

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