BENTONVILLE, ARKANSAS — Walmart announced this week it is moving to eliminate synthetic dyes and the use of an additional 30 ingredients, including certain preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes from its private brand food products.
“This action is a significant step forward in its ongoing mission to provide customers with affordable, high-quality private brand products,” the retail behemoth says.
The change, which includes all Walmart U.S. food private brands such as Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and bettergoods, is in line with evolving customer preferences and in support of a more transparent food system.
The retailer also intends to eliminate an additional 30 ingredients – like certain preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes — from its U.S. private brand foods, including Great Value, Marketside, Freshness Guaranteed and bettergoods.
“Customers will still get the same great taste and value, with high quality options they can feel good about feeding their families,” Walmart claimed.
ccording to a new survey, Walmart customers are increasingly more interested in what’s in their food, with sixty-two percent of customers saying they want more transparency and fifty-four percent saying they review food ingredients.1
This growing trend among customers is in part why last year, the retailer launched bettergoods, a quality, chef-inspired private brand which includes a line of plant-based and “made without” items, with 70% of the items under $5.
While this move is one of the largest private brand reformulations in retail history, it isn’t the first time Walmart has removed ingredients customers don’t want. Today, about 90% of Walmart U.S. food private brand products are free from synthetic dyes.
Walmart U.S. is eliminating these 11 synthetic dyes from all private brand food products.
- FD&C Blue 1
- FD&C Blue 2
- FD&C Green 3
- FD&C Red 3
- FD&C Red 4
- FD&C Red 40
- FD&C Yellow 5
- FD&C Yellow 6
- FD&C Citrus Red
- FD&C Orange B
- Canthaxanthin
In addition to dyes, these 30 ingredients are also being removed from Walmart U.S. private brand foods.
- Titanium Dioxide
- Azodicarbonamide
- Dicotyl Sodium Sulfosuccinate (DSS)
- Sucrose Polyester
- Toluene
- Anisole
- Lye
- Morpholine
- Propylene oxide
- Sodium Stearyl Fumarate
- Stearyl tartrate
- Ficin
- Synthetic trans fatty acid
- Butylparaben
- Lactylated Esters of Mon & Diglycerides (OLEON)
- Methylparaben
- Propylparaben
- Calcium Bromate
- Potassium Bromate
- Bromated flour
- Neotame
- Advantame
- Phthalates
- Potassium Bisulfite
- Potassium Nitrate
- Potassium Nitrite
- Simplesse
- Sodium Ferrocyanide (aka Yellow Prussiate of Soda)
- Sucroglycerides
- Talc