In a bold new front of America’s public health battle, PepsiCo has confirmed what health-conscious families have been hoping to hear for years: artificial food dyes are on their way out. Speaking during an April 24 earnings call, CEO Ramon Laguarta revealed that PepsiCo is well into a sweeping ingredient overhaul — one that aligns closely with President Donald Trump’s high-profile “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) initiative.
“For example, brands like Lay’s will be out of artificial colors by the end of this year, and the same with Tostitos,” Laguarta said. “We’re well underway.”
The timing of the announcement is no accident. Just days earlier, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announced a dramatic crackdown on six petroleum-based synthetic dyes widely used in American food products: Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue 2, and Green 3. The aim? A full ban by the end of 2026—a move that brings the U.S. in line with food safety standards already established in Europe and the U.K.
“The answer is not more Ozempic, more ADHD medication, and more antidepressants,” Makary declared. “The best way to lower drug prices is to stop taking drugs we don’t need.”
It’s a powerful reframing of America’s spiraling health crisis. With 41% of children now facing at least one chronic condition, Trump’s MAHA campaign targets not just Big Pharma but the hidden food toxins that saturate the shelves of grocery stores and school cafeterias.
In response, PepsiCo isn’t resisting—it’s racing to adapt. “There’s probably going to be a consumer demand for more natural ingredients, and we’re going to be accelerating that transition,” Laguarta said. “We’ll lead that transition.”
To many, this marks a stunning about-face from one of the world’s largest food and beverage conglomerates. PepsiCo — the parent company of Frito-Lay, Quaker Foods, Mountain Dew, and more — has long defended its formulations. But under pressure from regulators and a president who has made public health a cultural and political priority, the company now sees change not only as inevitable—but as a competitive advantage.
For consumers, the FDA’s move signals a long-overdue reckoning with an issue that has been festering quietly for decades. In contrast to Europe, where food products are often dyed with beet juice, paprika extract, turmeric, or spirulina, U.S. grocery aisles have remained dominated by hyper-processed, chemically saturated goods.
That era is ending.
PepsiCo’s pivot could serve as a bellwether. Other major players — from General Mills to Kraft Heinz — will now be forced to follow or risk being left behind in an increasingly health-literate marketplace. And with Trump’s MAHA initiative reshaping both public policy and corporate priorities, the implications extend far beyond snacks and sodas.
