Mars Inc. is encountering unexpected challenges as it works to remove artificial food dyes from some of its products, underscoring the difficulties facing food manufacturers amid a broader push by the Trump administration to phase out synthetic color additives.
The maker of M&M’s has pledged to introduce versions of some products made without artificial dyes after mounting pressure from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. The company plans to rely on colors derived from natural ingredients rather than synthetic additives.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, replacing some of M&M’s signature colors has proven more complicated than company researchers initially anticipated.
Mars scientists have successfully developed natural alternatives for red, orange and yellow candies using ingredients such as beets and turmeric. Reproducing other colors, however, has posed greater challenges.
Blue has emerged as one of the most difficult colors to replace. According to the Journal, Mars determined that spirulina, an algae-derived ingredient, offered the closest natural alternative to the synthetic dye Blue 1.
But the substitute has created a range of production challenges. Mars reportedly must use substantially larger amounts of spirulina-based coloring to approach the familiar blue shade used in M&M’s, and even then the resulting color is noticeably lighter than the traditional version. The ingredient has also proven difficult to use consistently in large-scale manufacturing.