Faded Froot Loops and Dull Doritos: Is Big Food Losing the War on Dyes?

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4 • 102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 28 July 2025

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The summer, some of the biggest food companies in America have announced that they plan to stop using artificial food dyes. It’s a move that would transform the look of some of the best known brands. Julie Creswell, who covers the food industry, explains how the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., got the food industry to commit to a change that it has resisted for years — and that could be bad for business.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the New York Times, I'm Natalie Ketrowa.
0:04.2	This is The Daily.
0:13.1	All right, New this morning, changes are coming to some of your favorite snacks.
0:18.0	This summer, some of the biggest food companies in America have announced that they're planning to stop using artificial food dyes.
0:25.6	It's not just one company making this big announcement.
0:28.0	Kraft Hines, one of the nation's largest food companies.
0:31.1	General Mills is the maker of cereals, including cinnamon toast crunch.
0:34.5	Iconic products like Kool-Aid and Jello poised for a new look.
0:38.4	Dozens of the top ice cream makers have a great...
0:41.5	It's also those jet-popped marshmallows as well as...
0:45.9	It's a move that would transform the look of some of the most iconic brands that we buy.
0:51.3	Everyone is saying we just don't need these artificial dyes anymore.
0:54.6	Especially.
0:55.1	Today, my colleague Julie Cresswell on how the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., got big food
1:05.4	to commit to a change it resisted for years and that could be bad for business.
1:20.7	It's Monday, July 28.
1:33.6	Julie, welcome to the show. This is your first time on the daily, right? It is. I'm so excited to be here.
1:41.5	We're excited to have you. So you cover the food industry, which with RFK Jr. now overseeing the Food and Drug Administration is facing a lot of potential change.
1:46.0	And we saw our first major example of that recently when these big food companies came out and said
1:52.1	they are going to eliminate artificial dyes from their products.
1:56.6	How big of a deal are these announcements?
1:59.3	Just put this into context for me.
	...

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