Kraft has been pushed by consumer groups to remove the dyes for years. More than a quarter-million people had signed a petition on Change.org asking the company to remove the “potentially harmful” dyes — Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 — from its mac & cheese, arguing that they have already been banned in certain countries outside of the U.S.
“Kraft will replace the synthetic colors with those derived from natural sources like paprika, annatto and turmeric,” the company said in a statement.
On the same lines, Nestle USA said in February that it will remove artificial colors and flavors from its chocolate candy, including Yellow 5, and McDonald’s Corp. said in early March that it would stop selling chicken raised with antibiotics important to human health.