Takis, the bright and spicy snack chip popular among children, said it would remove artificial colors and the petroleum-based ingredient TBHQ by the end of this year.
Owner Grupo Bimbo said the change will impact Takis' most popular products, including Takis Fuego and bright blue-colored Takis Blue Heat. Newer innovations — including Takis Pix, Xtreme Lime and Jalapeño — were developed without artificial colors from the start.
"Moving to no artificial colors added and no TBHQ represents an important milestone for the brand," Sandra Kirkpatrick, senior director of marketing at Grupo Bimbo's snacking arm Barcel USA, said in a statement. "It reflects our commitment to meeting the evolving expectations of today's consumers while continuing to deliver the intensity Takis is known for."
More food companies are committing to remove petroleum-based colors from products as they face mounting pressure from consumers and regulators. The FDA has given the food industry a voluntary deadline to phase out artificial dyes by 2027.
Takis is going a step further by removing TBHQ, a synthetic preservative used to prevent processed snacks from going stale. While TBHQ has been declared safe by U.S. and European regulators, some groups have expressed concerns that the ingredient could cause DNA damage or weaken immune systems if consumed in large quantities.
The rolled tortilla chip brand said updated products are rolling out at Walmart and other retailers nationwide. Owner Grupo Bimbo, which owns Sara Lee and Thomas' English Muffins, has committed to removing artificial colors across its portfolio by the end of the year.
Still, the switch could be tough for the brand, particularly for Takis Blue Heat, which relies on the certified color Brilliant Blue FCF. Blues and other colors not often found in nature are some of the toughest to recreate — Mars' natural color version of M&Ms, for example, is set to forego blue at first because of the difficulty in using plant-based dye spirulina at scale.
Takis has become a mainstay snack among children for its bright colors and spicy flavors. Rival Flamin' Hot Cheetos has also moved to phase out artificial dyes with owner PepsiCo offering a natural color version of the bright red corn puff under the banner Simply NKD.
