McCormick dropping food dyes under pressure from RFK Jr, US regulators
'Reformulation activity' happening across customer base and new products, McCormick CEO says
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McCormick is working to reformulate products to remove certain ingredients like food dyes that have been scrutinized by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and some U.S. food regulators as part of an effort to make a healthier America.
McCormick CEO Brendan Foley told analysts of the activity during an earnings call on Tuesday.
"We are seeing a tick-up in reformulation activity," Foley said, regarding food dyes and sodium, the latter of which he added they’ve always been working on.
Foley continued that such activity was occurring "across our customer base, but also a lot of new product activity, too."
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McCormick CEO Brendan Foley told analysts during an earnings call that the company is working to reformulate products to remove certain ingredients like food dyes. (Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)
McCormick manufactures and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavoring products to consumers and businesses. Foley said, however, that little of its portfolio makes use of food dyes.
The reformulation activity comes as the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement takes root across the country. The agenda aims to improve nutrition, eliminate toxins, preserve natural habitats and fight the chronic disease epidemic in this country, according to its website.
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Earlier this month, Kennedy instructed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials to explore potential changes to its "Substances Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS)" standards that apply regulatory classification to substances added to food. Kennedy has long been a proponent of food safety and said as HHS secretary he wants to promote "radical transparency" on the issue.
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"We want the dyes out of the food," Kennedy told Fox News earlier this month.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKC | MCCORMICK & CO. INC. | 81.47 | -0.20 | -0.25% |
States such as California have moved to ban certain food dyes in schools, while West Virginia on Monday signed into law a ban on seven different artificial food dyes and two additional food preservatives used in food items sold in the state in the coming years.
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The issue isn't entirely a Republican one, either. In January, under former President Joe Biden, the FDA revoked its authorization of Red Dye No. 3 following pressure from consumer advocates.
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel, Angelica Stabile and Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.