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Pepsi has a new challenge: keeping products like Gatorade and Cheetos vivid and colorful without the artificial dyes that U.S. consumers are increasingly rejecting.PepsiCo, which also makes Doritos, Cap’n Crunch cereal, Funyuns and Mountain Dew, announced in April that it would accelerate a planned shift to using natural colors in its foods and beverages. Around 40% of its U.S. products now contain synthetic dyes, according to the company.But just as it took decades for artificial colors to seep into PepsiCo’s products, removing them is likely to be a multi-year process. The company said it’s still finding new ingredients, testing consumers’ responses and waiting for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve natural alternatives. PepsiCo hasn’t committed to meeting the Trump administration’s goal of phasing out petroleum-based synthetic dyes by the end of 2026.“We’re not going to launch a product that the consumer’s not going to enjoy,” said Chris Coleman, PepsiCo’s senior director for food research and development in North America. “We need to make sure the product is right.”Coleman said it can take two or three years to shift a product from an artificial color to a natural one. PepsiCo has to identify a natural ingredient that will have a stable shelf life and not change a product’s flavor. Then it must ensure the availability of a safe and adequate supply. The company tests prototypes with trained experts and panels of consumers, then makes sure the new formula won’t snag its manufacturing process. It also has to design new packaging. Experimenting with spices to color Cheetos Tostitos and Lay’s will be the first PepsiCo brands to make the shift, with naturally dyed tortilla and potato chips expected on store shelves later this year and naturally dyed dips due to be on sale early next year. Most of the chips, dips and salsas in the two lines already are naturally colored, but there were some exceptions.The reddish-brown tint of Tostitos Salsa Verde, for example, came from four synthetic colors: Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 40 and Blue 1. Coleman said the company is switching to carob powder, which gives the chips a similar color, but needed to tweak the recipe to ensure the addition of the cocoa alternative wouldn’t affect the taste.In its Frito-Lay food labs and test kitchens in Plano, Texas, PepsiCo is experimenting with ingredients like paprika and turmeric to mimic the bright reds and oranges in products like Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Coleman said.The company is looking at purple sweet potatoes and various types of carrots to color drinks like Mountain Dew and Cherry 7Up, according to Damien Browne, the vice president of research and development for PepsiCo’s beverage division based in Valhalla, New York.Getting the hue right is critical, since many consumers know products like Gatorade by their color and not necessarily their name, Browne said.“We eat with our eyes,” he said. “If you look at a plate of food, it’s generally the different kinds of colors that will tell you what you would like or not.” Consumer demand goes from a whisper to a roar When the Pepsi-Cola Company was founded in 1902, the absence of artificial dyes was a point of pride. The company marketed Pepsi as “The Original Pure Food Drink” to differentiate the cola from rivals that used lead, arsenic and other toxins as food colorants before the U.S. banned them in 1906.But synthetic dyes eventually won over food companies. They were vibrant, consistent and cheaper than natural colors. They are also rigorously tested by the FDA.Still, PepsiCo said it started seeing a small segment of shoppers asking for products without artificial colors or flavors more than two decades ago. In 2002, it launched its Simply line of chips, which offer natural versions of products like Doritos. A dye-free organic Gatorade came out in 2016.“We’re looking for those little signals that will become humongous in the future,” Amanda Grzeda, PepsiCo’s senior director of global sensory and consumer experience, said of the company’s close attention to consumer preferences.Grzeda said the whisper PepsiCo detected in the early 2000s has become a roar, fueled by social media and growing consumer interest in ingredients. More than half of the consumers PepsiCo spoke to for a recent internal study said they were trying to reduce their consumption of artificial dyes, Grzeda said. Synthetic and natural colors are in FDA’s hands Some states, including West Virginia and Arizona, have banned artificial dyes in school lunches. But Browne said he thinks consumers are driving the push to overhaul processed foods.“Consumers are definitely leading, and I think what we need to do is have the regulators catching up, allowing us to approve new natural ingredients to be able to meet their demand,” he said.The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said it’s expediting approval of natural additives after calling on companies to halt their use of synthetic dyes. In May, the FDA approved three new natural color additives, including a blue color derived from algae. In July, the agency approved gardenia blue, which is derived from a flowering evergreen.The FDA banned one petroleum-based dye, Red 3, in January because it was shown to cause cancer in lab rats. And in September, the agency proposed a ban on Orange B, a synthetic color that hasn’t been used in decades.Six synthetic dyes remain FDA-approved and widely used, despite mixed studies that show they may cause neurobehavioral problems in some children. Red 40, for example, is used in 25,965 food and beverage items on U.S. store shelves, according to the market research firm NIQ.But even if decades of research has shown that synthetic colors are safe, PepsiCo has to weigh public perceptions, Grzeda said.“We could just blindly follow the science, but it probably would put us at odds with what our consumers believe and perceive in the world,” she said. Passing taste and texture tests PepsiCo also has to balance the needs of consumers who don’t want their favorite snacks and drinks to change or get more expensive because of the costs of natural dyes. NIQ data shows that unit sales of products advertised as free of artificial colors fell sharply in 2023 as prices rose.Susan Mazur-Stommen, a small business owner in Hinton, West Virginia, picked up some Simply brand Cheetos Puffs recently at a convenience store because they were the only variety available. She found the texture to be much different from regular Cheetos Puffs, she said, and their pallid color made them less appetizing.Mazur-Stommen said she agrees with the move away from petroleum-based dyes, but it’s not a critical issue for her.“What I am looking for is the original formulation,” she said.Ultimately, PepsiCo does not want customers to have to choose between natural colors and familiar flavors and textures, Grzeda said.“That’s where it requires the deep science and ingredients and magic,” she said. Durbin reported from Detroit. Dee-Ann Durbin and Ted Shaffrey, Associated Press
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The federal government is expected to again accept new applications for a program that grants some people without legal immigration status the ability to live and work in the United States.Lawyers for the federal government and immigrant advocates have presented plans before a federal judge that would open the door again to accepting applications for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, otherwise known as DACA.One state Texas, where the case is being heard however, would be exempted from providing work permits.It’s estimated that hundreds of thousands of people could be eligible to be enrolled in DACA, once a federal judge issues an order to formalize plans laid out by the Department of Justice in a legal filing made on Monday. The program, created under the Obama administration, grants people without legal immigration status who were brought into the country by their parents two-year, renewable permits to live and work in the U.S. legally.The program has allowed people who were brought to the United States as children to temporarily remain in the country and obtain work permits. It does not confer legal status but provides protection from deportation.Eligibility requirements include people who entered the country as children before their 16th birthday, were under 31 years old as of June 15, 2012, and have not been convicted of a felony, a significant misdemeanor, or three misdemeanors. There would be restrictions related to work permits for those who reside in Texas, which filed a lawsuit against the DACA program in 2018. Nothing changes yet DOJ attorneys laid out the proposal before U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen on Monday as part of the ongoing Texas lawsuit. It would allow U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to take new and renewal applications for DACA across the country, which it has not done for four years.In Texas, USCIS would take new and renewal applications for the DACA program but recipients residing in the state will not receive a work permit.Attorneys representing DACA recipients proposed adding a wind-down period that would allow Texas residents to keep their work authorization for one more renewal period.These proposals follow an earlier decision from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals allowing the program to continue with the work permit carveout in Texas.The federal government and attorneys for DACA recipients have two more opportunities in October to file responses to the proposals submitted this week. Hanen, based in Houston, will then decide what proposal or combination of proposals to implement in his order. Caution advised Immigrant advocates are not celebrating yet but believe thousands may be eligible for the program. Aside from the over 533,000 who are enrolled already in DACA, about 1.1 million people may be eligible across the country, according to a 2023 estimate from the Migration Policy Institute.People interested in applying were urged to start preparing. “While we are still waiting for an official decision, we believe our communities and families should be prepared and begin gathering the required documents,” Michelle Celleri, Legal Rights Director for Alliance San Diego, said in a statement.Other advocates are cautiously optimistic. Juliana Macedo do Nascimento, a spokesperson for United We Dream, pointed to a section in the government’s proposal that could hint at changes. “These proposals do not limit DHS from undertaking any future lawful changes to DACA,” the government’s proposal said in Monday’s filing.“We need to be able to look at this in a fuller picture than just this case, because we’re seeing the administration detain and deport DACA recipients,” Macedo do Nascimento said on Wednesday. Valerie Gonzalez, Associated Press
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued additional warnings related to possible Listeria contamination in pasta products. The warnings suggest that the Listeria outbreak, which has sickened at least 20 and killed four since last year, is far from over. Heres what you need to know about the latest warnings and which foods are being recalled this time. Whats happened? On September 30, the FDA posted a new recall notice to its website, which adds 11 new items to the list of pasta products being recalled due to Listeria contamination fears. On the same day, the CDC updated its Listeria Outbreak page to note an additional pasta item that has now been recalled from Trader Joes. The same day, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) also updated its public health alert regarding ready-to-eat pasta meals to include the Trader Joes pasta product. These newly recalled products are just the latest ones believed to be possibly infected with Listeria, a potentially deadly bacterium. The CDC has traced this outbreak to as far back as August 2024. During the remainder of that year, there were five known cases of illness related to the outbreak. However, so far in 2025, the total from the previous year has tripled to 15, bringing the total number of illnesses linked to this outbreak to 20. Unfortunately, there have also been four fatalities linked to the outbreak. Of the 20 individuals made sick by the outbreak, 19 required hospitalization. What new products are being recalled? A number of new products are being recalled. Those include one product sold at Trader Joes: Trader Joes Cajun style blackened chicken breast fettucine alfredo The above product came in 16-oz. plastic tray packages and had the best if used by dates of 9/20/2025, 9/24/2025, or 9/27/2025. A separate recall is on a larger scale. This recall includes 11 bowtie pasta products sold by grocery giant Albertsons Companies. This recall includes the following products with select sell-through dates: Product NameUPCSizeSell Thru Dates(if applicable,Or LotCode/Est.Number)Store BannersStatesREADY MEALSPESTO BOWTIE PASTA SALAD27133000000LBSSEP 13 25 ThruSEP 29 25Albertsons,SafewayCO, NE, NM, SD, WYBASIL PESTOBOWTIE PASTA SALAD29492100000LBSSEP 13 25 ThruSEP 29 25Albertsons, SafewayCO, NE, NM,SD, WYREADY MEALSPESTO BOWTIE PASTA SALAD27133000000LBSSEP 8 25 ThruSEP 26 25Albertsons,Pavilions, Safeway, VonsAZ, CA, NV,NM, TX, UTBASIL PESTOBOWTIE PASTA SALAD29492100000LBSSEP 8 25 ThruSEP 26 25Albertsons,Pavilions, Safeway, VonsAZ, CA, NV,NM, TX, UTREADY MEALSPESTO BOWTIE PASTA SALAD27133000000LBSSEP 20 25 ThruSEP 29 25Albertsons,Randalls, Tom ThumbAR, LA, OK, TXBASIL PESTOBOWTIE PASTA SALAD29492100000LBSSEP 20 25 ThruSEP 29 25Albertsons, Randalls, Tom ThumbAR, LA, OK, TXBASIL PESTO BOWTIE PASTA SALAD21649200000LBSSEP 11 25 ThruSEP 29 25Safeway,Andronico’s Community Markets, Vons, Pak ‘N SaveCA, HI, NVGRILLED CHICKEN & BASIL PASTA EXTRA LARGE21303500000LBSSEP 18 25 ThruSEP 29 25Carrs-Safeway,Eagle, SafewayAKREADY MEALSBASIL PESTO BOWTIE SALAD29130800000LBSSEP 18 25 ThruSEP 29 25Carrs-Safeway,Eagle, SafewayAKREADY MEALSSPINACH BOWTIE PASTA SALAD21142600000LBSSEP 16 25 ThruSEP 26 25United,Amigos, Market Street,Albertsons MarketNM, TXREADY MEALSBASIL BOWTIE PASTA SALAD21191300000LBSSEP 16 25 Thru SEP 29 25United,Amigos, Market Street,AlberstonsMarketNM, TX In what stores were the products sold? The Trader Joes Cajun style blackened chicken breast fettucine alfredo was sold at: Trader Joes The other pasta products listed above were sold in a number of Albertsons Companies stores, according to the recall notice posted on the FDA’s website, including: Albertsons Albertsons Market Amigos Andronico’s Community Markets Carrs-Safeway Eagle Pak ‘N Save Pavilions Market Street Randalls Safeway Tom Thumb Vons What states were the products sold in? According to the above notices, the Trader Joes Cajun style blackened chicken breast fettucine alfredo product was sold at Trader Joes locations in the following states: Arizona California Nevada New Mexico Utah The other pasta products listed above were sold by Albertsons Companies stores in the following states: Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Hawaii Louisiana Nebraska Nevada New Mexico Oklahoma South Dakota Texas Utah Wyoming What is Listeria and what are its symptoms? Listeria is a bacterium that can cause severe illness in people, according to the CDC. The illness can stay local to the intestines or spread to other parts of the body (invasive). In America, about 1,250 people contract a Listeria infection each year. Despite the relatively small number of infections, the illness has a high death rate. About 172 people in America die annually from the infection. Intestinal Listeria illness symptoms include diarrhea and vomiting. Invasive Listeria illness includes fever and flu-like symptoms in pregnant individuals as well as headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and seizures in other individuals. While anyone can contract a listeria infection, the illness is particularly harmful for individuals who are aged 65 or older, and those who are pregnant, have weakened immune systems, or are newborns. What should I do if I have the recalled products? The FDA says anyone with the recalled products should not consume them. Instead, they should dispose of the product or return it to its place of purchase. Additionally, the FDA warns those who have the recalled products should use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with these products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. The agency notes that Listeria can survive in refrigerated temperatures and spread to other food and surfaces with ease. You can read the complete details of the latest Listeria notices and warning updates here, here, and here.
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