Walmart announced plans Wednesday to make its private label food brands “simpler” by removing synthetic dyes and as many as 30 ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes.
Walmart called the decision “one of the largest private brand reformulations in retail history.” The company said that the planned changes will be in place “by January 2027 at the latest.”
In a video clip, Scott Morris, U.S. senior vice president of Walmart’s private brands and food/consumables, said all synthetic dyes will be removed from the food portfolio of its private label products. For some, that’s already been done, he said, while the rest will be rolled out over the next year or two.
He called it ”very clear” that customers want simpler ingredients.
By email, the company said that over the coming year, every Walmart U.S. private brand food item, including Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and bettergoods will have those ingredients removed.
“About 90% of Walmart’s private brand foods are already free from synthetic dyes and reformulated products will begin rolling out to stores and online in the months ahead,” according to the email.
As part of the notice, the company said customers are driving the change: 62% want more transparency in good ingredients, more than half say they check labels as they shop and “many are asking for ‘made without’ products — foods with simpler, recognizable ingredients.”
The company announcement noted that the “growing trend among customers is in part why last year the retailer launched bettergoods, a quality, chef-inspired private brand which includes a line of plant-based and ‘made without’ items, with 70% of the items under $5.”
Answering the call
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in late April that eight petroleum-based food dyes will be leaving the food supply by 2027. He said he was banning what he called a “rainbow of risk,” noting that if people want to consume petroleum, “they should add it themselves at home.”
In June, Kraft Heinz said it was on board and won’t add artificial coloring to any new product it launches in the U.S., effective immediately. As Deseret News reported, the company said it is replacing the artificial colors with natural alternatives in brands including Jell-O, Kool-Aid and Oscar Mayer. The company said almost 90% of its products in the U.S. are already free of the artificial colors.
Other companies have also announced plans to voluntarily eliminate the dyes.
Although some food manufacturers say there’s no evidence the dyes pose a health risk, The New York Times earlier reported that some other countries have already taken steps. In Canada, for instance, Froot Loops are colored by blueberries and carrots, while here in the states, Froot Loops have been colored by Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and Blue No. 1. The European Union has already banned some artificial dyes.
“As the leading grocer in the U.S., this move will have a significant impact on the market and the safety of food that so many Americans purchase for their families,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said in a statement.
The complete list of ingredients Walmart will eliminate is available here. It includes titanium dioxide, dicotyl sodium sulfosuccinate, butylparaben, synthetic trans fatty acid and talc, among others.
There are 11 synthetic dyes that will be eliminated.