They’ll never again have the chance to get ahead of this issue. But they can at least strive to stay ahead of the crowd. Nestlé says it has removed all artificial flavours and colours from it’s foods and beverages…
As the latest Nestlé corporate logo (pictured top of page) attests, the global food giant is making a real effort to meet the challenge of becoming more friendly with nature. Not to mention more friendly with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s is the 26th Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)…
Ahead of the pack
The company has, in fact been paying more than lipservice to sustainability as well as health and wellness issues for several years, now. S when US Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. de-clared war on artificial colours and flavours in processed foods, Nestlé was already on the doorstep in a healthy-products renaissance.
A year ago, Nestlé announced it was already 90 percent artificial colour- and flavour-free across its entire produce range. Now, Nestle has announced it’s removed all artificial dyes and flavourings from its food and beverage products.
That’s a position no other processed manufacturer can claim. In fact, most of Nestlé’s competitors are nowhere close to attaining that goal.
Not an ‘overnight success’
At the outset of its ‘clean-up’ program, Nestlé vowed to ‘go natural’ with colours and flavours while ‘keeping the quality, taste and experience people expect. On the whole, they’ve managed to meet that commitment. Though it’s been more difficult to achieve with some products than others.
Nevertheless, Nestlé has done its homework – and performed due diligence – in meeting its goal.
“This work didn’t happen overnight,” Marty Thompson, CEO of Nestlé USA, wrote in a blog post. “In fact, it builds on years of progress and the ongoing commitment of teams across our business to evolve recipes while protecting what people know and love.”
Others following suit
While Nestlé currently leads the pack, competitors including including General Mills, Kraft Heinz and The Campbell’s Company are close behind. They and other food companies have also vowed to re-move artificial dyes from their lines. Retailers such as Target have already started to limit sales of foods with artificial colours.
It’s just a matter of time before all makers of processed foods join the ‘clean club’.
“We know people expect more from the products they bring into their homes — great taste, trusted quality, ingredients they feel good about and value that fits their lives,” Thompson said. “Earning that trust isn’t a one-time action. It means continuing to listen, evolve and be clear about where we’re making progress. It also means anticipating where consumer expectations are headed — and making changes today to meet them. That’s what this work is about.”
My take
it’s abou8t time. ‘clean’ food advocates have been pushing for the removal of artificial colours and flavours from food products for decades. Almost as long as scientific studies have been finding associations between those ingredients and various health and wellness issues.
On another, parallel track, the big UPOF makers have started to bend their formulatio0ns toward healthier profiles. But not necessarily to make them healthier. Coke, Pepsi and other major fizzy bev and snack makers have started adding protein, fibre and electrolytes to everything they sell, to make it appear their products are more wholesome.
But they haven’t yet started taking out the ingredients that made those products ‘junk food’ in the first place… That’s the ‘next frontier’…
~ Maggie J.