General Mills Announces Plans to Remove Certified Colors from All U.S. Cereals and All Foods Served in K-12 Schools by Summer 2026

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General Mills (NYSE: GIS) today announced plans to remove certified colors from all its U.S. cereals and all foods served in K-12 schools by summer 2026. Additionally, the company will work to remove certified colors from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027.

For nearly 160 years, General Mills has been providing families quality, great-tasting products across its beloved portfolio of brands.

This change impacts only a small portion of General Mills’ K-12 school portfolio, as nearly all its school offerings today are made without certified colors. Similarly, 85 percent of General Mills’ full U.S. retail portfolio is currently made without certified colors.

“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,” said Jeff Harmening, chairman and CEO, General Mills. “Today, the vast majority of our foods are made without certified colors and we’re working to ensure that will soon apply to our full portfolio. Knowing the trust families place in us, we are leading the way on removing certified colors in cereals and all our foods served in K-12 schools by next summer. We’re committed to continuing to make food that tastes great and is accessible to all."

For decades, General Mills has proven its reformulation capabilities and delivered products that delight consumers and meet a changing landscape. General Mills is the leading provider of whole grains to Americans with other notable efforts including industry-leading sugar-reduction work across General Mills’ K-12 school portfolio, doubling vitamin D in General Mills’ cereals in 2023 to help close nutritional gaps, and reducing sodium by 20 percent across key product categories since 2019.

General Mills has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to serving with purpose, and this is just the next step in continuing to make food the world loves. For more information, visit GeneralMills.com.

About General Mills

General Mills makes food the world loves. The company is guided by its Accelerate strategy to boldly build its brands, relentlessly innovate, unleash its scale and stand for good. Its portfolio of beloved brands includes household names like Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Totino’s, Annie’s, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more. General Mills generated fiscal 2024 net sales of U.S. $20 billion. In addition, the company’s share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1 billion.