Dive Brief:
- Walmart on Wednesday said it would remove artificial dyes and 30 other ingredients typically found in ultraprocessed foods from its store brands by January 2027, calling the move "one of the largest private brand reformulations in retail history."
- The nation's largest retailer is working with private brand suppliers to adjust formulations and source alternative ingredients across its labels, which include Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and Bettergoods.
- Consumers are paying closer attention to ingredient lists as they increasingly prioritize health and wellness. The Trump administration has put additional pressure on companies to reformulate, asking the food industry to eliminate artificial colors by the end of next year.
Dive Insight:
A majority of the nation's largest food companies have announced plans to transition to natural dyes. Walmart is a part of a handful of companies to remove other ingredients associated with ultraprocessed foods, which is likely the next target of the Trump administration.
Ingredients set for removal include preservative propylparaben and flour bleaching agent azodicarbonamide, sometimes called the "yoga mat chemical" for its use in foam plastics. Some chemicals listed for removal, however, are no longer used by the industry or not used in the food manufacturing process. Orange B food dye, for example, hasn’t been certified as a color for use since 1978, while toluene, another ingredient listed, is used in food packaging, not processing.
“Our customers have told us that they want products made with simpler, more familiar ingredients — and we’ve listened," John Furner, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said in a statement. "By eliminating synthetic dyes and other ingredients, we’re reinforcing our promise to deliver affordable food that families can feel good about.”
Walmart said that 90% of its private brand products are already free from synthetic dyes. Reformulated products will begin to rollout to stores over the next couple of months, with "longer lead time changes planned to wrap up January 2027 at the latest," according to a statement.
Last month, Tyson Foods said it would end use of high fructose corn syrup and preservatives like BHT and BHA. A growing list of smaller brands are also moving away from seed oils, a popular target of the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.
