M&M’s, a popular chocolate candy in the U.S., is dealing with a case of the blues — or, more accurately, lack thereof. The company is temporarily removing two of its colors — blue and brown — as part of its transition from artificial to natural food dyes.

Natural Dyes

The move comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. set his sights on the food dyes in popular snacks as part of his “Make America Healthy Again” (nicknamed “MAHA”) movement. In response, last year, M&M’s parent company Mars promised to offer options for some of its treats without artificial dyes, planning instead to color the foods with dyes derived from natural sources.

While the FDA didn’t technically ban artificial dyes, it has an “understanding” with food companies, according to Kennedy, but it’s unclear how enforcement works. Some research suggests “certain children may be sensitive to them,” according to the FDA, so it’s continuing to monitor emerging research on the subject.

Impact on Consumers

Mars will introduce four options made without Food, Drug & Cosmetic (FD&C) colors (synthetic colors) and make them available nationwide online. The four-color, naturally colored M&M’s will be sold only on Amazon, while the original, artificially colored M&M’s will remain where they are currently sold.

The company is having significant trouble re-creating the vibrant “cerulean” blue, introduced in 1995, that would make Miranda Priestly recoil. And its brown shade is made with a significant amount of blue dye, as well. The candy company uses Blue No. 1 for the two temporarily-benched candy colors, and it chose spirulina, a blue-hued, high-protein superfood, as its natural replacement.

Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.