General Mills Inc.  , is planning to employ federal officials over possible regulations on food colors that it uses in some of its grains, as , Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the candidate to run the , Department of Health and Human Services, calls for them to be removed.
We work closely with policymakers on this issue because this is always changing, the organization said in a speech. We’ll consult with national authorities as they consider any extra modifications that they might suggest.
As a well-known supporter of Donald Trump, who later made him his choice to operate for HHS, Kennedy drew attention to the use of colors in the last week of the US presidential campaign.
Late last month, Kennedy said,” The first thing I’d do is n’t going to cost you anything because I’m just going to tell the cereal companies: Take all the dyes out of their food.”
Consumer advocates have criticized the compounds as a safety risk because some children may experience restlessness and carcinogenicity as a result of using artificial dyes. The colors are removed from some cereal varieties that are sold worldwide.
General Mills, which produces colorful grains like Trix and Happy Charms, may have to pay a premium for food dye limitations. Duller shades may turn off customers. However, some customers demand grains free of colours, so it could be dangerous to not reformulate.
Big food manufacturers pledged to remove the dyes from National products almost ten years ago. But many of them eventually backtracked. After customers complained about the naturally colored version of Trix grain, General Mills reinstated synthetic colors in the brand in 2017.
Food colors took a hit in September when , California , Governor , Gavin Newsom , signed a legislation that will ban six varieties of them, including those typically used in beautiful children’s cereals, from foods served in the state’s public colleges by the end of 2027.
General Mills already offers Trix without dyes to schools, but Lucky Charms still contain Red 40, Yellow 5 &, 6, and Blue 1. Froot Loops or Apple Jacks have been the targets of a month-long campaign to remove the dyes, but WK Kellogg has not done so.
” Coming through”
Both companies have said they plan to comply with the , California , law, and General Mills says it’s still “working through” questions of how it plans to do that, which could include reformulating products or removing them from the available options for , California , schools.
Kellogg is also “assessing” its options for how to comply with the , California , school law, a spokesperson said. The person stated that the company would continue to collaborate with policymakers from all sides of the political spectrum.
After months of protesting Kellogg’s use of the dyes, food activist , Vani Hari, known as the Food Babe, has also sent a letter to General Mills urging it to remove the dyes from its American cereals.
” General Mills has the opportunity to avoid a PR nightmare”, Hari said. I hope they take their place as industry leaders and start removing artificial food dyes from all of their cereal, as they do in other nations.
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