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The MAHA movement is winning yet again this week, amid Walmart’s newest announcement that the company will be working to remove synthetic dyes and over 30 other potentially harmful ingredients from its U.S. private food brands.
In an official announcement, the massive retailer said it would focus on eliminating synthetic dyes and other ingredients like preservatives, fat substitutes, and artificial sweeteners from its shelves, including its famous “Great Value” brand, as well as “Marketside,” “Freshness Guaranteed,” and “bettergoods.”
“Our customers have told us that they want products made with simpler, more familiar ingredients — and we’ve listened,” said Walmart U.S. President and CEO John Furner.
“By eliminating synthetic dyes and other ingredients, we’re reinforcing our promise to deliver affordable food that families can feel good about,” he added.
The company said this newest change comes as a response to “changing customer preferences.”
The retailer cited a survey of Walmart customers that found 62 percent of their consumer base “want more transparency and 54 percent saying they review food ingredients.”
“While this move is one of the largest private brand reformulations in retail history, it isn’t the first time Walmart has removed ingredients customers don’t want. Today, about 90% of Walmart U.S. food private brand products are free from synthetic dyes,” Walmart explained in its statement.
This overhaul of Walmart’s ingredients is part of a broader trend in America, spurred by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has heavily pushed the “Make America Healthy Again” agenda.
This summer, dozens of U.S. ice cream producers promised to remove artificial dyes from their products by the end of 2027, RSBN previously reported.
Other companies, like In-N-Out, Skittles, Tyson Foods, Hershey, and Pepsi, have made similar vows amid rising consumer concern with potentially hazardous ingredients like food dyes, chemically-based preservatives, and seed oils.