Two major food producers say that they will be pulling artificial dyes from their American products starting in 2027.

The shift comes nearly two months after federal health officials said that they would urge foodmakers to phase out petroleum-based artificial colors.

Kraft Heinz last week said that it will be removing artificial dyes from its American products beginning in 2027 and will no longer roll out new products with the dyes.

Hours later, General Mills announced that it plans to remove artificial dyes from all of its cereals sold in the United States and all foods served in K-12 schools by the summer of 2026. It is also looking to eliminate the dyes from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027.

Kraft Heinz said that almost 90 percent of its U.S. products already don’t contain food, drug and cosmetic colors, but that the products that do still use the dyes will have them removed by the end of 2027. Food, drug and cosmetic colors are synthetic additives that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in food, drugs and cosmetics.

Kraft Heinz said that many of its U.S. products that still use the food, drug and cosmetic colors are in its beverage and desserts categories, including certain products sold under brands including Crystal Light, Kool Aid, Jell-O and Jet Puffed.

The company said that it will instead use natural colors for the products.

“The vast majority of our products use natural or no colors, and we’ve been on a journey to reduce our use of FD&C colors across the remainder of our portfolio,” Pedro Navio, North America president at Kraft Heinz, said in a statement.

Kraft Heinz stripped artificial colors, flavors and preservatives from its macaroni and cheese in 2016 and said it has never used artificial dyes in its ketchup. The company plans to work with licensees of its brands to encourage them to remove the dyes.

General Mills said the changes it is making impacts a small portion of its K-12 school business as most of its school items are already made without artificial dyes. In addition, 85 percent of the company’s foods that are sold retail are already made without dyes.

“Across the long arc of our history, General Mills has moved quickly to meet evolving consumer needs, and reformulating our product portfolio to remove certified colors is yet another example,” Chairman and CEO Jeff Harmening said in a statement.

In April Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary said at a news conference that the agency would take steps to eliminate the synthetic dyes by the end of 2026, largely by relying on voluntary efforts from the food industry.

Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention issues, in some children.

The Food and Drug Administration has maintained that the approved dyes are safe and that “the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.”