Kellogg’s US announced last week that it is committing to remove all artificial colours and flavours from its cereal and snack bars by the end of 2018.
Kellogg’s Australia has confirmed to Australian Food News that the commitment will apply to all international markets including Australia.
Kellogg’s senior nutrition and regulatory affairs manager in Australia said, in a statement released to Australian Food News,
“We know that consumers are looking for foods with simpler ingredients, and we’re answering that call. All Kellogg products in Australia are already free from artificial colours, and we’re always working on ways to make positive improvements to our foods. A great example of that is Froot Loops, which since 2011 contains only natural colours and flavours.”
The plans were firstly announced by Kellogg’s in the US who said that 75 per cent of its cereal in North America are already being made without artificial colours, half are already made without artificial flavours.
The Kellogg’s announcement comes at a time when there appears to be an on-going trend for food companies to be revisiting food product composition and labelling to facilitate a cleaner label.
In recent announcements by other food companies, General Mills Inc said in June 2015 that 90 per cent of its cereals would contain no artificial flavours or colours by 2016. At the time of the announcement, 60 per cent of General Mills cereals included no artificial flavours or colours.
Kellogg’s and General Mills Inc are not the only companies to recently announce the removal of artificial in food products.
In June 2015 Australian Food News reported that Domino’s Pizza Australia had decided to remove all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its pizza menu over the next two years.
As early as 2012 Woolworths announced that over 70 lines of its -n-store baked bread would become free from artificial colours, flavours, emulsifiers and preservatives.
Sales drop for Kellogg’s US
Last week Kellogg’s US also released its financial results for the second-quarter reporting a 5.1 per cent drop in sales. The drop was the seventh in eight quarters where Kellogg’s have experienced a drop in sales.
Kellogg’s snack sales dropped 2 per cent and sales in the company’s ‘morning foods’ category dropped 2.2 per cent.
Kellogg’s is the world’s biggest breakfast cereal maker and has been operating in the US for 109 years.
