Tyson Foods Planning To Eliminate Synthetic Dyes From Products Within the Month

Tyson Foods and PepsiCo are getting an early start on a significant industry transformation by eliminating synthetic dyes from their products months ahead of federal deadlines, signaling a significant shift in how America’s foods are produced.

Key Insights

Tyson Foods will eliminate all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from its products by the end of May 2025, well ahead of the FDA’s 2026 deadline.
PepsiCo is also removing artificial colors from its snack foods by the end of this year, with its brands like Lay’s and Tostitos already making changes.
The FDA plans to phase out six synthetic dyes from the US food supply by the end of 2026, with four new natural food dyes to be authorized soon.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has criticized petroleum-based food additives and is pushing for natural alternatives like beet juice and carrot juice.
Most of Tyson’s retail products, including popular items like chicken nuggets, are already free from these controversial dyes.

Major Food Manufacturer Taking Steps

Tyson Foods, the company behind major American brands including Jimmy Dean, Hillshire Farm, Ball Park, and Wright Brand, has announced it will complete the removal of all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from its products by the end of May 2025. The announcement came directly from Donnie King, president and CEO of Tyson Foods, during a recent earnings call. This proactive measure puts Tyson well ahead of the FDA’s mandate to remove six synthetic dyes from food products by the end of 2026.

King revealed that Tyson’s school nutrition programs already exclude petroleum-based synthetic dyes, and most of the company’s retail products are already compliant. “As a recognized leader in protein, none of the products Tyson Foods offers through our school nutrition programs include petroleum-based synthetic dyes as ingredients,” King stated during the call. He added that the company is “proactively reformulating those few products” that still contain such ingredients.

PepsiCo Joins the Movement

Tyson Foods isn’t the only one taking steps. PepsiCo has also announced plans to eliminate artificial colors from its extensive snack food portfolio by the end of 2025. This includes popular brands like Lay’s and Tostitos, which have already begun removing these controversial dyes from their products. These changes represent a significant shift for major food manufacturers, who are responding both to regulatory pressure and changing consumer preferences for cleaner ingredient labels.

Federal Push to Remove Synthetic Dyes

The elimination of synthetic dyes comes amid a broader federal initiative led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The FDA has already banned Red No. 3 in January due to cancer risk concerns and plans to revoke approval for Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B in the coming months. Currently, nine of the 36 FDA-approved food dyes are artificial and petroleum-based, but the government aims to phase out all artificial dyes by the end of 2026.

This transition away from artificial dyes is already happening at the state level. West Virginia and California have moved to ban certain artificial food colorings, while other companies like Kraft and Nestlé have removed these ingredients from their products. To ease the transition, the FDA plans to authorize four new natural food dyes soon, providing manufacturers with approved alternatives.

Industry Response and Consumer Impact

While companies such as Tyson Foods and PepsiCo are embracing these changes ahead of schedule, not all industry voices are in agreement about the necessity of removing these dyes. The Consumer Brands Association maintains that ingredients currently approved for use in the US food supply are safe. However, despite the FDA not establishing a definitive link between artificial dyes and behavioral problems, some studies have suggested potential issues, which has fueled consumer concerns.

“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” Kennedy has said. Marion Nestle of New York University, according to NBC News, has stated she believes these ingredients should have been removed long ago.