Just days after federal officials moved to eliminate synthetic food dyes, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta announced that the company had already been working to phase out artificial colors and clean up its product ingredients — a shift accelerated under pressure from President Trump’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative.
“We’ve been leading the transformation of the industry now for a long time on sodium reduction, sugar reduction and better fats,” Laguarta said per FoodBusinessNews during an April 24 conference call with analysts reviewing PepsiCo’s fiscal 2025 first-quarter results. The New York-based company, whose food portfolio includes Frito-Lay and Quaker Foods (now combined under PepsiCo Foods North America), is touting its progress.
“When we talk about the US food business, 60%-plus of our (portfolio) today doesn’t have any artificial colors, so we’re undergoing that transition,” Laguarta added. “For example, brands like Lay’s will be out of artificial colors by the end of this year, and the same with Tostitos — some of our big brands. So we’re well underway.”
PepsiCo’s announcement came in the wake of sweeping action from the Trump administration targeting petroleum-based synthetic food dyes. Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary unveiled a major crackdown on six widely used synthetic dyes, pledging a full ban by the end of 2026.
“The FDA is taking action to remove petroleum-based food dyes from the US food supply and from medications,” Makary said last Tuesday. “For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals.”
The FDA plans to phase out Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 — chemicals found in everything from candy and cereal to soft drinks and cough syrups. Makary explained the decision was backed by a growing body of evidence linking these dyes to numerous health concerns.
“The scientific community has conducted a number of studies raising concerns about the correlation between petroleum-based synthetic dyes and several health conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obesity, diabetes, insulin resistance, cancer, genomic disruption, GI issues… and allergic reactions,” he said.
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The Trump administration framed the ban as a step toward tackling America’s growing health crisis among young people. “While America’s children are sick and suffering, 41% of children have at least one health condition, and one in five are on medication,” Makary said. “The answer is not more Ozempic, more ADHD medication, and more antidepressants… we have to look at underlying root causes.” In a shot at Big Pharma, he added, “The best way to lower drug prices is to stop taking drugs we don’t need.”
PepsiCo, which had defended the safety of its products for years, now appears ready to accelerate changes in response to new regulatory standards and consumer pressure. “We obviously stand by the science,” Laguarta said. “Our products are very safe, and there’s nothing to worry about. But we understand that there’s probably going to be a consumer demand for more natural ingredients, and we’re going to be accelerating that transition.”
“But we’ll lead that transition, and in the next couple of years, we’ll have migrated all the portfolio into natural colors or at least provide the consumer with natural color options. And every consumer will have the opportunity to choose what they prefer. So that’s the journey we’re undergoing,” Laguarta finished.
The FDA’s plan puts the U.S. on a path toward aligning with food safety standards already adopted by countries like the U.K. and much of Europe, where synthetic dyes have long been banned or heavily restricted in favor of natural alternatives like beet juice, turmeric, and paprika extract.