US Politics
Cheetos and Doritos are turning down the orange color — and yes, it is a Trump thing
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PepsiCo will soon debut a line of Doritos and Cheetos without any artificial colors or snacks, as the Trump administration pushes companies to ditch synthetic additives.
The Simply NKD line of snacks, expected in stores on December 1, will taste like the originals and still retain signature flavors including Flamin’ Hot Cheetos and Cool Ranch Doritos, though customers will note the snacks will be a lighter color than they’re used to, according to the company.
The new offerings, teased in October, will be sold at the same prices as the originals, which will remain on the market.
Around 40 percent of the company’s U.S. products currently contain synthetic dyes, per PepsiCo.
The Trump administration announced in April it was seeking to get all petroleum-based synthetic dies out of the food supply by the end of next year.
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“For too long, some food producers have been feeding Americans petroleum-based chemicals without their knowledge or consent,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the force behind the administration’s “Make American Healthy Again” push, said at the time. “These poisonous compounds offer no nutritional benefit and pose real, measurable dangers to our children’s health and development.”
The following month, the Food and Drug Administration announced it granted petitions for three new color additives available from natural sources.
In June, Kraft Heinz, the maker of pantry staples including Jell-O, Kool-Aid, and its name brand macaroni and cheese, announced it would remove chemical dyes by the end of 2027.
By July, a group of 40 top ice cream producers had committed to phasing out synthetic dyes.
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The candy industry, home to famous — and famously colorful — offerings such as M&Ms and Skittles, has appeared reluctant to voluntarily align with the White House initiative.
“We follow and will continue to follow regulatory guidance from the authorities in this space,” Christopher Gindlesperger, a spokesman for the National Confectioners Association, told The New York Times in July, adding that companies need time to find alternative dyes and are struggling to find enough natural colors to meet demand.
He warned both challenges could drive up prices, hammering an industry already struggling with Trump’s tariffs.