--- title: Kraft Mac and Cheese Will Ditch the Synthetic Orange Coloring description: The manufacturer is ditching synthetic colors starting next year. canonical: https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-21T01:43:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T09:07:49.432Z article:section: Health og:title: Kraft Mac & Cheese Plans to Go for a More Natural Look og:description: The manufacturer is ditching synthetic colors starting next year. og:url: https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75dd5ca3a977bfd/6987ec073c1639b9064559a0/kraft-mac-cheese.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2940 og:image:height: 1654 og:image:alt: Views Of Kraft Foods Products At A Supermarket Ahead Of Earns og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kraft Mac & Cheese Plans to Go for a More Natural Look twitter:description: The manufacturer is ditching synthetic colors starting next year. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75dd5ca3a977bfd/6987ec073c1639b9064559a0/kraft-mac-cheese.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Kraft Mac & Cheese Plans to Go for a More Natural Look > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=aaca6c6a-ea70-4fb9-8c9d-1c488bb7eb25&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Kraft To Stop Using Yellow Dyes In Mac & Cheese [Watch (HLS stream): Kraft To Stop Using Yellow Dyes In Mac & Cheese](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HAUZVdOD.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2015-04-21. Kraft has decided to stop using yellow dyes in its macaroni and cheese products after health activists petitioned the company to cut the additives._ by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 21, 2015 1:43 AM UTC Kraft has decided to stop using yellow dyes in its macaroni and cheese products after health activists petitioned the company to cut the additives. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Apr 21, 2015 1:43 AM UTC Your bowls of Kraft mac & cheese could look a bit [different](http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/iconic-kraft-macaroni--cheese-to-remove-synthetic-colors-and-artificial-preservatives-in-the-us-in-2016-300068396.html) starting next year. Kraft Foods Group will no longer use synthetic coloring or artificial preservatives in its original Macaroni & Cheese in the U.S., the company announced Monday, and it will also remove synthetic coloring from Kraft Dinner Original meals in Canada. Customers have long identified the pasta dish with the iconic orange color, but the manufacturer says it will turn to natural color alternatives derived from sources like turmeric, paprika and annatto. The company’s announcement called the move an “on-trend update” to the brand and explained that customers “want to feel good about the foods they eat and serve their families, including everything from improved nutrition to simpler ingredients.” The change is scheduled to come into effect in the U.S. in January 2016. ## Transcript [00:00] Soon the iconic golden yellow Kraft Mac and Cheese [00:03] might be a little less yellow. I was [00:08] just showing him.. give me [00:12] the spoon. That's because Kraft will no longer being using [00:16] artificial preservatives or synthetic colors starting January [00:19] 2016. Specifically yellow five and yellow six. Some argue [00:23] that food dyes can cause hyperactivity disorder in children, [00:26] but that remains a subject of debate in the scientific [00:29] community. USA Today reports a Kraft spokesman said the [00:32] move isn't in response to pressure from activists to ditch the [00:35] ingredients. And the company has been mulling changes [00:38] for at least three years now. But it was probably hard to [00:42] ignore change. org petition with more than 350, 000 [00:45] signatures urging the company to stop using the dyes. Plus [00:49] the company has already had to make changes in some [00:51] parts of Europe where the dyes are banned due to health [00:54] concerns. They sell a million boxes of mac and cheese [00:58] every single day. That if they wanna maintain that share, [01:02] they gotta change with the consumer taste. What you're [01:04] looking for, simpler, more natural ingredients. Sales for [01:08] additive free and organic products have been on the [01:10] reason. The Organic Trade Association said sales jumped [01:13] 11 % in 2014 to a record $ 39. 1 [01:18] billion. Mom calls it a book club, I call it [01:22] a license to steal. Hello, ladies. [01:26] Now, the people behind the original Change. org petition [01:29] are setting their sights on Kraft's entire product line and are [01:33] aiming to get artificial dyes removed items like Jello and [01:35] Kool- Aid. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/"},"headline":"Kraft Mac & Cheese Plans to Go for a More Natural Look","datePublished":"2015-04-21T01:43:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T09:07:49.432Z","description":"The change is expected to go into effect in January 2016","url":"https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Food & Drink","kraft"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75dd5ca3a977bfd/6987ec073c1639b9064559a0/kraft-mac-cheese.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta75dd5ca3a977bfd/6987ec073c1639b9064559a0/kraft-mac-cheese.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Views Of Kraft Foods Products At A Supermarket Ahead Of Earns","caption":"Views Of Kraft Foods Products At A Supermarket Ahead Of Earns","creditText":"David Paul Morris—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/","name":"Kraft Mac & Cheese Plans to Go for a More Natural Look"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Kraft To Stop Using Yellow Dyes In Mac & Cheese","description":"Kraft has decided to stop using yellow dyes in its macaroni and cheese products after health activists petitioned the company to cut the additives.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HAUZVdOD/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-04-21T15:20:14.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HAUZVdOD.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/","duration":"PT1M37S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3829094/kraft-mac-and-cheese-color/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```