Mars candy and food dyes, why are they holding the line?

[White Cat]

It cracks me up that this board can act like "healthy foods" is important, yet every time I visit the parks, it's not apparent that health is important to anyone. We have issues where people can't fit on rides, and scooters outnumber strollers in some areas. There's a popular channel dedicated to visiting parks if you are in the 400-pound+ range. These people talk about not fitting on rides, while also videoing themselves eating 10,000 calories in one sitting.

Point being, it's not just the "food" that is the problem. Nobody forces you to eat a gallon of M&Ms. If you eat a pack every now and then, nobody gets hurt. We have a culture that treats morbid obesity differently than other countries. There's a lot to fix.

See ya in controversial topics.

It’s sad to see any where but I seem to notice it more at WDW. A fat little kid eating junk food. It’s not very good parenting.

 

[citruscurtis]

They need to find enough customers to sell their output at a profit or the business won't last very long, no matter how good it might be for the environment.

... and that is an excellent observation and why decades later synthetics in our foods are still standard... profits... can we imagine what our chocolate choices are going to look like... why stop with dyes... anyhow we have two years come January 15, 2027 ...to hoard PEEPS...surely those colors artificial if not the entire concept of a Peep

 

[White Cat]

... and that is an excellent observation and why decades later synthetics in our foods are still standard... profits... can we imagine what our chocolate choices are going to look like... why stop with dyes... anyhow we have two years come January 15, 2027 ...to hoard PEEPS...surely those colors artificial if not the entire concept of a Peep

Might become collector items.

 

[citruscurtis]

Might become collector items.

For sure.. for sure..the atomic bomb cockroaches need something to do in their spare time

 

[PollyannaMom]

Not getting why Mars is doubling down on keeping current food dyes with concerning information in their products instead of going back to older recipes of safer ingredients?

Health issues on the uptick so why not just do your part and go back to safer ingredients?

Also, the argument they are using is idiotic because the other things they name for traction are for adults 18 and up, not categoty marketed specifically to children for holidays such as Halloween in particular.

Odd hill to fight on all the way around, if you get it help it make sense.

Because they've done field group studies, and their customers won't buy the candy without the bright colors.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Not if you don't eat it. People in the US really need to be taught how to eat healthy, not simply presented with "healthier" junk food. "Healthier candy" isn't going to help them become healthy people.

I don't really care what the candy companies do -- US or internationally. This simply isn't an issue I'd fight.

In this case however the dyes aren't in candy and candy alone. And IMO it's not a case over healthy vs not healthy I think that's maybe why the conversation is centered around that. The OP is focusing on candy and specifically Mars but really the dye discussion impacts a slew of companies and a slew of different products. The dyes being told to be removed are petroleum based and have long-since been seen as an issue.

California for example banned red dye 40 (just one of the dyes being spoken about) by 2027 which is in sports drinks like Gatorade and many other foods. Gatorade may not be considered the healthiest thing but it can serve a purpose for someone for a specific situation. The dye is not needed really. Another example is in Europe Fanta Orange doesn't have the same dyes as we have here. There's no real need to make it that orange other than for looks. Fanta Orange in Europe contains orange juice and orange concentrate as well as carrots and other things. It's still a yellow/orange-ish color but is much lighter than the American version, my husband has loved getting it when we've been in Europe. Sure Fanta is not healthy but it does contain red dye 40 in the American version and is an example of a switch out that can be done in the interest of the public.

A lot of things touted as healthy, especially these days because of public opinion, are not entirely healthy or at the least not part of making a balanced meal because people get too hyperfocused on "healthy" when it may be having little to no actual health benefit and could be detrimental instead.

So to me this dye conversation is less about teaching healthy eating and more about why do these dyes which have long-since been shown to have adverse health effects be actually needed, the answer is mostly money and an image representation (we eat with our eyes and most people here are used to vibrant vs muted colors).

 

[lanejudy]

The OP is focusing on candy and specifically Mars

As you noted, the OPs question was specific to Mars candy, not use of food dyes in general. I honestly don’t care if a candy manufacturer makes a product with food dyes. Nobody is forced to eat candy. It’s not good for you anyway so yet another negative chemical substance in it isn’t of any importance to me. If it’s important to you go right ahead and complain or boycott them or whatever makes you feel good.

 

[citruscurtis]

I

A lot of things touted as healthy, especially these days because of public opinion, are not entirely healthy or at the least not part of making a balanced meal because people get too hyperfocused on "healthy" when it may be having little to no actual health benefit and could be detrimental instead.

What are some examples of not making a balance meal and detrimental... wife and I go round and round on strawberry... the most poison infused fruit

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

As you noted, the OPs question was specific to Mars candy, not use of food dyes in general. I honestly don’t care if a candy manufacturer makes a product with food dyes. Nobody is forced to eat candy. It’s not good for you anyway so yet another negative chemical substance in it isn’t of any importance to me. If it’s important to you go right ahead and complain or boycott them or whatever makes you feel good.

I know that's the OP's focus but it's not something you can talk about in a nonchalant way by saying we just need to be taught to be healthier and point to candy as something people can just avoid because the dyes in question aren't just in candy they are in many different products. The OP is making the point that Mars (and I think there is one or two other big companies) don't want to remove the dyes in question but that isn't what you were talking about.

The informed citizen would want to (and I'm sure we've all become a bit more aware of these over the years) would want to look at all our products we consume and match up with the dyes either CA has banned or the ones being spoken about in the larger FDA sense IF we're talking about healthy vs not healthy like you were. Because again it's not just candy, so you'd want to ensure nothing you were consuming contained these dyes in question.

Anything used to create a color is a dye but there's using blueberries for fruit loops in Canada and then there's what we use to get the coloring. There's using carrot juice, orange juice and oranges to get the coloring for Fanta Orange in Europe and then there's using red dye 40 in the U.S.

I don't think you need to basically assume that I'm calling for a boycott which I do not do in general for things nor am I actually complaining about it. I don't have a beef here, I'm just providing the bigger picture here, if the dyes in question were just in certain specific candy and candy alone and not in any other food or drink item is would be more applicable to just speak like you are.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Not getting why Mars is doubling down on keeping current food dyes with concerning information in their products instead of going back to older recipes of safer ingredients?

Health issues on the uptick so why not just do your part and go back to safer ingredients?

Also, the argument they are using is idiotic because the other things they name for traction are for adults 18 and up, not categoty marketed specifically to children for holidays such as Halloween in particular.

Odd hill to fight on all the way around, if you get it help it make sense.

Their priorities were and always money.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

What are some examples of not making a balance meal and detrimental... wife and I go round and round on strawberry... the most poison infused fruit

Off topic here but there's a lot of stuff you can see that are about adding the "IN" ingredient at the moment I'm mostly seeing that with protein, whey being spoken about a lot. But because protein for example is now overstaturated in the market you could unknowingly purchase powders (which is probably the most used way of adding protein these days outside of actual food items) that are considered adulterated including more fillers of sugar or worse metals (though now we know that rice products that many of us purchase also contain high metal levels specific to certain areas the rice is made) as well as BPA, pesticides and more. So you're trying to be healthier by getting more protein but could instead be causing more harm.

Then with anything some people end up relying on xyz in an effort be healthier but end up with problems because of lack of variety in food groups or types. This is outside of people with food issues due to their body's mechanism such as a food allergen or Celiac.

But I don't want to go more into that as it's a different topic.

 

[lanejudy]

The OP is making the point that Mars (and I think there is one or two other big companies) don't want to remove the dyes in question but that isn't what you were talking about.

Wow, you really read into things something that isn’t there. Sometimes a duck is just a duck — or my opinion about whether candy contains artificial dye is simply my opinion about such dyes in candy.

I’ll simplify it for you.

1. I don’t care if dyes are removed from candy
2. Because candy isn’t healthy
3. Natural dyes will not make the candy “healthier” despite someone else claiming it is in other countries
4. Removing artificial dyes from candy is not going to have any significant impact

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Wow, you really read into things something that isn’t there. Sometimes a duck is just a duck — or my opinion about whether candy contains artificial dye is simply my opinion about such dyes in candy.

I’ll simplify it for you.

1. I don’t care if dyes are removed from candy
2. Because candy isn’t healthy
3. Natural dyes will not make the candy “healthier” despite someone else claiming it is in other countries
4. Removing artificial dyes from candy is not going to have any significant impact

You said "People in the US really need to be taught how to eat healthy, not simply presented with "healthier" junk food. "Healthier candy" isn't going to help them become healthy people." which is what I responded to. So to be honest you brought up more than candy to begin with, I responded in kind to that.

 

[TwoMisfits]

We actually have no idea what artificial dyes are doing long term to people. We suspect they may be causing neurotoxocity and possible cancers, but the data is weak for now.

So, we don't know if they are the equivalent of low-level arsenic or meaningless air or somewhere in between for long term use. But this possibility of harm is bad for a product with NO positive health effect or benefit. Dyes provide nothing for our health. So, we SHOULD care about what we allow companies to put into our food supply. If the item has zero need to be in the product (and artificial dyes have ZERO need), we should disallow them until companies have the long term usage data to show the dye is 100% safe.

Artificial dyes are the easiest and most reasonable thing to disallow. If you can't make folks buy and eat your product b/c it doesn't look as good without them and obviously doesn't taste good enough without the look, make a better product.

 

[lanejudy]

You said "People in the US really need to be taught how to eat healthy, not simply presented with "healthier" junk food. "Healthier candy" isn't going to help them become healthy people." which is what I responded to. So to be honest you brought up more than candy to begin with, I responded in kind to that.

Context. That was in response to someone posting other countries don't have artificial dyes in candy. Again, it is my opinion that it doesn't matter whether candy manufacturers use artificial dyes because candy isn't good for you regardless.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Some of the posts on here made me consider what the other candy companies are doing with the topic. Are they all going to follow Mars or use this as a chance to set themselves apart?

Meanwhile at Hershey:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/mone...shey-to-cut-artificial-dyes-2027/84435345007/

Smart on Hershey to hit the ground running just before Halloween, very smart.

 

[LuvOrlando]

General Mills is catching the wave



https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/17/gen...colors-from-all-its-us-cereals-and-foods.html

and



https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2025/06/17/kraft-heinz-removing-dyes/84243799007/

 

[CPBv2]

General Mills is catching the wave

View attachment 982698

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/17/gen...colors-from-all-its-us-cereals-and-foods.html

and

View attachment 982700

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2025/06/17/kraft-heinz-removing-dyes/84243799007/

The implication of this is that the colour of Kraft Dinner is one that occurs in nature. I never would have thought that.

And for the record, as a Canadian, I have had an inordinate amount of KD over the years...

 

[LuvOrlando]

The implication of this is that the colour of Kraft Dinner is one that occurs in nature. I never would have thought that.

And for the record, as a Canadian, I have had an inordinate amount of KD over the years...

I didn't know what Kraft Diner is so I looked it up and now know it is Mac & Cheese. First thought was no that is not a natural color at all BUT apparently they use a combination of natural foods like artists to get the color way back in 2015, based on that date in this article. I had no idea but yay them since so many families rely on items such as this. BTW I am not a food snob, I just get migraines that prohibit a lot of the fun stuff.





https://www.eater.com/2016/3/7/11173858/kraft-mac-and-cheese-different

 

[Imzadi]

The implication of this is that the colour of Kraft Dinner is one that occurs in nature. I never would have thought that.

They will probably use a turmeric based natural dye. The problem is making it the right color and then seeing how it affects the taste.