Artificial food dyes have been a hot topic over the last few years, prompting California lawmakers to propose and pass several bills designed to tamp down on their use in the state. The latest, called the California School Food Safety Act , was signed into law last month, making it illegal for public schools to offer food to children that contains any of six different artificial dyes, including Red No. 40 and Yellow No.
5, when it goes into effect at the end of 2027. California tends to be a leader in food safety legislation, and now people in other areas of the country are pushing for products to change their use of synthetic food dyes. Earlier this week, protesters gathered outside the Michigan headquarters of WK Kellogg Co.
to demand that the company remove artificial food dyes from its Froot Loops, Apple Jacks, and other breakfast cereals. Kellogg had pledged back in 2015 to remove artificial dyes from its foods by 2018. But that hasn’t happened, despite the company making changes to its formulas in other countries—coloring Froot Loops in Canada with concentrated carrot juice, watermelon juice and blueberry juice, for example—where artificial colors are more tightly regulated.
Actress Eva Mendes promoted the protest to her nearly 7 million followers on Instagram , writing, “I grew up on cereal. I still love it but I won’t eat @kelloggsus anymore after I found out that so many of the ingredients they use here in the US are BANNED in other countries. Why? Because .
