Dive Brief:

• Kraft announced the removal of artificial dyes from its shaped macaroni and cheese products for kids, using spices like paprika for coloring instead.
• The affected products include varieties such as SpongeBob Squarepants, Halloween and winter shapes, as well as two soon-to-be-added shapes.
• The company insists that the changes aren't being made as a result of a Change.org petition asking for the removal of the dyes from its macaroni and cheese products.

Dive Insight:

Growing consumer interest in healthy food options have led to an increase in distrust over the ingredients in packaged foods. Artificial colors have particularly come under fire, and the Change.org petition over Kraft's mac and cheese received more than 348,000 signatures since March. It is currently unknown whether Kraft will alter its other mac and cheese products' ingredients, though its "Homestyle" varieties already exclude the artificial colors in question. A similar petition recently led PepsiCo to remove brominated vegetable oil from Gatorade.