Artificial Dyes Are Leaving the Cereal Aisle: What General Mills and Kellogg Changed in 2026

The brightest boxes in the cereal aisle are changing color sources. In August 2026, General Mills said every cereal it sells in the U.S., including Lucky Charms and Trix, is now made without certified colors. WK Kellogg Co, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, said its whole cereal lineup will be free of artificial colors by the end of 2026, a year earlier than it first promised. Both moves follow a 2025 push by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to get petroleum-based dyes out of the food supply.

Here is what changed, what replaced the dyes, and what it does and does not mean for the cereal in your bowl.

Key Takeaways

General Mills announced on August 26, 2026, that all of its U.S. cereals are now made without certified colors, meeting its summer 2026 goal.
WK Kellogg Co says its full cereal portfolio, including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, will be made without artificial colors by the end of 2026, using colors from fruit and vegetable juices and other plant-based ingredients.
In April 2025, the FDA asked the food industry to eliminate six synthetic dyes, including Red No. 40 and Yellow No. 5, from the food supply by the end of 2026.
New recipes change where the color comes from, not the sugar. A dye-free cereal can still be high in added sugar, so the Nutrition Facts panel still matters.

What “Certified Colors” Are

“Synthetic color additives, also known as certified colors, are required to undergo batch certification, a process in which the FDA analyzes a representative sample of each batch of the color additive to ensure it meets the required identity and specifications before it can be used,” the FDA explains. Food labels must name each one, such as “FD&C Blue No. 1 or the abbreviated name, Blue 1,” according to the agency.

On April 22, 2025, the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services announced “a series of new measures to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply.” The plan includes:

Establishing a national standard and timeline for the food industry to move from petrochemical-based dyes to natural alternatives.
Revoking authorization for two synthetic colorings, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B.
“Working with industry to eliminate six remaining synthetic dyes—FD&C Green No. 3, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, FD&C Yellow No. 6, FD&C Blue No. 1, and FD&C Blue No. 2—from the food supply by the end of next year.”
Asking companies to remove FD&C Red No. 3 sooner than its existing 2027 to 2028 deadline.

“Today, the FDA is asking food companies to substitute petrochemical dyes with natural ingredients for American children as they already do in Europe and Canada,” FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said at the time.

General Mills: Every U.S. Cereal Is Done

General Mills said “all General Mills cereals in the U.S. are now made without certified colors, completing this milestone in line with the company’s summer 2026 commitment.” It had already removed certified colors from all of the foods it supplies to K-12 schools in March 2026.

“With all U.S. cereals – including Lucky Charms and Trix – now free from certified colors, 90% of General Mills’ U.S. retail portfolio has completed the transition,” General Mills said. “The company remains on track to remove certified colors from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027, including fruit snacks and baking products.”

“As the leader in cereal, General Mills is focused on giving people what they are looking for from the brands they know and love,” said Bethany Quam, president of Big G Cereal at General Mills.

Trix Has Tried This Before

This is not the first time Trix lost its synthetic dyes. In 2016, General Mills released new recipes for Trix and other cereals with no colors from artificial sources, Fox Business reported. Fans pushed back, and in 2017 the company brought back “Classic Trix” alongside the new version.

“Our Trix fans have been calling us, e-mailing us and reaching out to us on social media asking if we would consider bringing back the original formulation of Trix cereal with its vibrant colors,” then-General Mills spokesperson Mike Siemienas said at the time, according to Fox Business.

Kellogg: Froot Loops and Apple Jacks by Year’s End

“WK Kellogg Co. says it will eliminate artificial colors from its entire cereal portfolio by the end of 2026, a year ahead of its original schedule,” the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported in August. Production of the new recipes, including Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, begins later in 2026, with product shipping to retailers before the end of the year.

The colors will come from fruit and vegetable juices and other plant-based ingredients, and the company made a “significant investment” in its plants to support the change, Food Processing reported.

“We conducted extensive consumer testing to make sure these recipes deliver the great taste consumers want while maintaining the original rainbow of colors — red, orange, yellow, green, purple and blue — that fans of Froot Loops and other colorful cereals have come to love,” said Doug VanDeVelde, WK Kellogg’s chief growth officer. “It wasn’t easy but we identified natural solutions for every color.”

WK Kellogg had already reformulated its school foods without artificial colors and stopped launching new products with artificial colors in January 2026. It is also removing the preservative BHT from the small amount of its packaging that still contains it. The company, which Italy-based Ferrero bought for $3.1 billion in a deal completed in September 2025, had also signed an agreement with the Texas attorney general to remove artificial colorings from its cereals by 2027, Food Processing reported.

The Timeline So Far

Date	What happened
April 22, 2025	FDA and HHS announce plan to phase out petroleum-based dyes; ask industry to drop six dyes by end of 2026
July 2025	WK Kellogg sets a plan to remove artificial colors, originally by 2027
September 2025	Ferrero completes its $3.1 billion purchase of WK Kellogg
January 2026	WK Kellogg stops launching new products with artificial colors
March 2026	General Mills completes certified-color removal from K-12 school foods
August 2026	WK Kellogg moves its cereal deadline up to the end of 2026; General Mills finishes all U.S. cereals
End of 2027	General Mills’ target for its full U.S. retail portfolio, including fruit snacks and baking products

What It Means for Your Bowl

Check the ingredient list, not just the box front. Boxes made before the switch can stay on shelves for a while. The ingredient list tells you which version you have: synthetic dyes appear by name, such as “Red 40” or “Yellow 6.”

Expect slightly different colors. Natural colors may not look exactly like the dyes they replace. When Trix switched in 2016, fans asked General Mills to bring back its “vibrant colors.”

Dyes are not the same as nutrition. Removing synthetic dyes does not change the sugar, fiber or protein in a cereal. Lucky Charms, for example, has 12 grams of added sugar per cup, the same as Honey Nut Cheerios, according to our label review in 10 Best Cereals for Kids. For lower-sugar picks, see Best Healthy Cereals 2026, and for more label questions, our Cereal FAQ: 50 Questions.