The Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement scored another win this week when global food company General Mills announced it has ditched dyes from its cereal, including Lucky Charms and Trix.
The company said on Wednesday that all of its cereals are now made without artificial colors and that 90% of its U.S. retail products have transitioned away from synthetic dyes. Other popular dye-free cereals from General Mills include Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese’s Puffs, Chex, Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Cookie Crisp, and Wheaties.
“As the leader in cereal, General Mills is focused on giving people what they are looking for from the brands they know and love,” General Mills’ president of cereal Bethany Quam said in a statement. She added that the company is “evolving with consumer needs while continuing to offer food that tastes great, delivers quality, and provides value.”
The MAHA movement has targeted synthetic dyes in popular foods, especially foods marketed toward children. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been at the helm of steering such changes, and many GOP-led states have gotten on board too.
Kennedy made removing artificial dyes a priority early in his tenure. On March 10, 2025, he told food industry leaders, including executives from General Mills and WK Kellogg Co., that he wanted artificial color additives removed from their products before he left office.
Then, on April 22, 2025, Kennedy and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a plan to phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply. The administration called for the industry to eliminate six remaining dyes — including Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3 — by the end of 2026, while also pushing companies to remove Red 3 ahead of an existing 2027 deadline.
In 2025, following an investigation by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, General Mills agreed to remove synthetic dyes from all its products by the end of 2027. The company said this week that it’s on track to meet the goal.
General Mills’ announcement follows other major retail stores and brands making the same MAHA switch. WK Kellogg, for example, said earlier this month that it’s removing artificial colors from all its U.S. cereals by the end of 2026. WK Kellogg makes popular cereals like Froot Loops and Apple Jacks.
Earlier this year, Target said it would drop any cereals with synthetic dyes, and Walmart announced artificial colors would be removed from its store brands by January 2027.
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