Target to stop selling cereals with certified synthetic colors by end of May
NEW YORK (AP) — Target will stop selling its entire assortment of cereal with certified synthetic colors by the end of May.
The move, announced Friday, underscores the acknowledgment that American consumers and the U.S. government under President Donald Trump are paying attention to what goes into packaged foods.
The Minneapolis-based discounter said it had been phasing out synthetic colors in cereals for several years, and currently nearly 85% of its cereal sales already come from products made without certified synthetic dyes. Some of the artificial food dyes detailed by Target are being reviewed by U.S. Food and Drug Administration like Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5 and 6 and Blue No. 1.
Target said that it has worked with national brands and its private brands to reformulate products as needed. Some cereals will have updated formulations, and many others already meet its new cereal assortment standard for no certified synthetic colors, the retailer said.
“We know consumers are increasingly prioritizing healthier lifestyles, and we’re moving quickly to evolve our offerings to meet their needs,” said Cara Sylvester, Target’s executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, in a statement.
Target said that reformulating its cereal line builds on the foundation Target established in 2019 with the launch of its store label food brand Good & Gather, which is made without artificial flavors and sweeteners, synthetic colors or high fructose corn syrup. The brand has more than 2,500 products across dairy, produce, ready made pastas meat as well as baby and toddler food.
In recent months, major food companies such as Kraft Heinz, Nestle and Conagra Brands have pledged to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in coming years.
General Mills also announced last year that it plans to remove artificial dyes from all of its U.S. cereals and all foods served in K-12 schools by the summer of 2026. It is also looking to eliminate the dyes from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027.
The food company said last June that brands like Cheerios, Honey Nut Cheerios, Cascadian Farm, Annie’s, Nature Valley, LÄRABAR and others are already made without certified colors.
Last October,Walmart said it plans to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027.
Early this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it was relaxing rules t hat restrict when food companies can claim their products have no artificial colors.
The agency said that food labels may claim to have “no artificial colors” when they’re free of petroleum-based dyes, even when they contain dyes derived from natural sources such as plants. Previously, the FDA had let companies make those claims only when products “had no added color whatsoever,” according to the agency’s statement.
The announcement marked yet another step toward the Trump administration’s mission to eliminate synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary had said the move would entice companies to switch to natural rather than synthetic colors if they can claim their products contain no artificial colors.
