BUSINESS-ECONOMY
Dozens of people protested outside WK Kellogg Co.'s Michigan headquarters Tuesday, pushing the company to remove artificial dyes from its breakfast cereals sold in the US. Kellogg, the maker of Froot Loops and Apple Jacks, said almost a decade ago it would make its products free of artificial colours and ingredients by 2018. The company has already done the same in other countries. For instance, in Canada, Froot Loops is coloured using concentrated carrot juice, watermelon juice, and blueberry juice. In the US, however, the cereal still contains artificial dyes and BHT, a chemical preservative. On Tuesday, activists said they were delivering petitions with more than 400,000 signatures asking WK Kellogg to remove artificial dyes and BHT from their cereals. Protesters said that there is evidence artificial dyes cause behavioural problems in children. “I'm here for all the mothers who struggle to feed their kids healthy food without added chemicals,” said Vani Hari, a food activist who previously pushed Kraft Heinz to remove artificial dyes from its macaroni and cheese. The US Food and Drug Administration says it has assessed the effects of these colour additives on the behavioural changes of children; however, it is its opinion that nearly all children do not react to consuming them in a detrimental manner. Battle Creek, Michigan-based WK Kellogg became a separate company last year when its snack division was spun off to form Kellanova. Kellanova retained the company's international cereal business; it now manufactures Froot Loops with natural dyes for markets like Australia and the United Kingdom. WK Kellogg said Tuesday that its foods are safe and that all of its ingredients meet federal guidelines. “Today, more than 85 per cent of our cereal sales contain no colours from artificial sources,” the company said in a statement. “We continuously innovate new cereals that do not contain colours from artificial sources across our biggest brands, offering a broad choice of nourishing foods for our consumers.” Kellogg said it first announced its decision to rid artificial colours and ingredients almost a decade ago after the company believed customers wanted foods with natural ingredients and would appreciate the change. However, the company found that consumer preferences vary significantly between markets. “For example, there is better reception to our cereal recipes that utilise natural-colour alternatives within the Canadian market than in the U.S.,” the company said. Still, Kellogg may want to rethink its position. Last month, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed a bill that bans six food dyes from being served in the state's public schools, making it the first US state to take such action. California's law bans four of the dyes now used in Froot Loops: Red Dye No. 40, Yellow Dye No. 5, Yellow Dye No. 6 and Blue Dye No. 1. This article includes reporting from Associated Press Finance. None
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