General Mills says every cereal it sells in the United States is now free of certified artificial colors, completing a sweeping reformulation effort that includes brands such as Lucky Charms, Trix, Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
General Mills has eliminated certified artificial colors from its entire U.S. cereal lineup, completing a companywide reformulation effort that revisits a change the food manufacturer first attempted with some of its best-known brands nearly a decade ago.
The Minneapolis-based company announced Wednesday that all cereals it sells in the United States are now made without petroleum-based certified colors, meeting a goal General Mills had set for this summer.
The transition encompasses a broad range of major cereal brands, including Lucky Charms, Trix, Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Chex, Wheaties, Reese’s Puffs, Kix and the seasonal Monster Cereals.
For products known for their bright colors, including Trix and Lucky Charms, General Mills is using coloring derived from fruits, vegetables and spices instead of certified synthetic dyes. Ingredients such as turmeric and paprika are among those being used to recreate the appearance consumers associate with the cereals.
“This achievement reflects how we are evolving with consumer needs while continuing to offer food that tastes great, delivers quality and provides value,” Bethany Quam, president of Big G Cereal at General Mills, said in a statement.
The company had already removed certified artificial colors from all foods it serves in K–12 schools in March, making the nationwide cereal conversion another step in a broader effort to reduce the ingredients across its U.S. business.
General Mills said approximately 90 percent of its American retail portfolio is now produced without certified artificial colors.
The company plans to remove the colors from the remainder of its U.S. retail products by the end of 2027. The remaining categories include fruit snacks and baking products.
“This effort involves reformulating products while maintaining taste, quality and consistency,” General Mills said.
The cereal overhaul follows an earlier attempt that demonstrated some of the difficulties food manufacturers can encounter when replacing synthetic dyes in products whose appearance is closely associated with their brands.
General Mills reformulated Trix in early 2016, replacing its artificial colors with alternatives derived from natural sources.
The response from some customers was negative. Consumers complained that the new cereal appeared duller and asked General Mills to restore the original version.
In 2017, the company responded by bringing back “Classic Trix,” which used artificial colors, and selling it alongside the naturally colored version.
Nearly a decade after that reversal, General Mills has returned to the idea on a substantially larger scale, this time removing certified artificial colors from every cereal it markets in the United States.
The change comes amid a broader transformation in the American packaged-food industry as manufacturers, retailers and federal regulators move away from petroleum-based food dyes.
Federal attention increased in April 2025, when the Department of Health and Human Services and the Food and Drug Administration announced a national initiative aimed at phasing those ingredients out of the U.S. food supply.
The agencies cited concerns about possible effects of the dyes on children’s health and development.
Since then, the FDA has worked with food manufacturers and retailers to secure voluntary commitments to eliminate certified synthetic colors from products.
General Mills is not alone in accelerating its transition.
Earlier in August, WK Kellogg Co., which makes cereals including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, announced that it would remove artificial colors from all of its cereals by the end of 2026.
That timetable is approximately one year faster than the Battle Creek, Michigan-based company had initially planned.
WK Kellogg said production using the reformulated recipes is expected to begin later this year, with the new versions scheduled to reach retailers before the end of 2026.
Converting products from synthetic dyes to naturally derived alternatives can require more than simply substituting one coloring ingredient for another.
Natural food colors are generally less stable than their synthetic counterparts. They can degrade more easily and in some cases require refrigeration to preserve their freshness and effectiveness.
WK Kellogg said accommodating those differences required a “significant investment” in its manufacturing facilities as it prepared for the transition.
Retailers are applying additional pressure on food producers to move away from synthetic colors.
Target announced in February that every cereal sold through its stores and online would be made without certified synthetic colors by the end of May.
The FDA now identifies Target’s transition as complete.
Walmart has adopted an even broader ingredient-removal initiative for its private-label food products.
The retailer has committed to eliminating synthetic dyes along with more than 30 other ingredients from all of its U.S. private-brand foods. Walmart expects the remaining reformulations to be completed by January 2027.
The combination of voluntary industry changes, retailer requirements and federal pressure has accelerated a transition that individual companies had previously pursued more gradually.
For General Mills, the completion of its cereal reformulation represents a return to a challenge it encountered firsthand with Trix in 2016 and 2017: removing synthetic colors while preserving the appearance, taste and familiarity consumers expect from long-established brands.
This time, the company has extended the change across its entire U.S. cereal business, with the remainder of its American retail portfolio scheduled to follow by the end of 2027.
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