Mars says M&M's, Starbursts without synthetic dyes coming in 2026
Video above: FDA announces in April 2025 that it will phase out food dyes.
(NEXSTAR) — While several other food companies had confirmed they would drop artificial food dyes in response to a mission set forth by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this summer, Mars Wrigley was considered a holdout. That quietly changed late last month.
In a late-July statement, which was first reported by Bloomberg on Thursday, Mars Wrigley North America announced it plans to release "product options" made without artificial dyes in 2026.
These options without synthetic dyes will be available only across four of its brands to start, according to the statement: M&M’s, Skittles Original, Extra Gum Spearmint, and Starburst Original fruit chews. They'll be available to purchase online throughout the U.S.
A spokesperson confirmed to Nexstar that the "choice products" without artificial dyes will be additions to the current brands. They declined to say whether currently available products will be affected by the dye changes.





















Toi Staff
Sabine Sterk
Penny S. Tee
Gideon Levy
Waka Ikeda
Mark Travers Ph.d
Grant Arthur Gochin
Tarik Cyril Amar
Chester H. Sunde