General Mills is getting rid of all artificial flavors and colors from its cereals by 2017. According to a press release, 90 percent of all of the company's cereals will be completely free of the unnatural ingredients by the end of 2016.
Joining other large companies in cleaning up their acts, General Mills will start with Trix, Cocoa Puffs and Reese’s Puffs by the end of this year.
The Golden Valley-based food giant is the first major U.S. cereal maker to systemically extract artificial colors as more and more consumers are gravitating toward 'clean' labels and thus learning to avoid processed food.
The company will use fruit and vegetables juices, as well as spice extracts, to achieve the bright colors found in cereals.
They will also inorporate natural vanilla instead of its artificial version. General Mills emphasizes that the flavors of the cereals will remain the same.
“Consumers increasingly want the ingredient list for their cereal to look like what they pull out of their pantry,” Jim Murphy, president of General Mills U.S. cereal business told the Star Tribune.
"They don’t want labels chock-full of “colors with numbers and ingredients you can’t pronounce.”
U.S. cereal business has been declining the past few years, as consumers preferred protein-rich options.
Murphy said he “didn’t think there’s any question” that removing artificial colors and flavors would help the lagging cereal market.
Reformulations are also risky because consumers might not find the healthier option to be visually attractive. “The look is important,” Murphy said. “People taste with their eyes sometimes.”
A number of companies and restaurants have pledged to remove artificial ingredients recently. Nestlé announced in February that it will eliminate fake flavors and colors by the end of 2015.
Panera Bread, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Subway all announced that they too will get rid of the artificial ingredients in the next couple of years.
